Chicken & Asparagus Crepes

I know I told you I'd have this recipe for you yesterday, but it was such a gorgeous day--one of the first one's we've had this season, and I just couldn't have myself sitting at home indoors. Sorry!


I tried something new yesterday.

I went to Zumba class.
Zumba is a dance fitness workout.
Oh boy, oh boy!! Is it ever funnnnnnnnn!!!

Now, I'm not a huge workout buff--and I definitely cannot dance. I am very long limbed, and clumsy as all get out--but Zumba was fun. And I sweated. Boy did I ever. It was a great, great, fantastic workout.

Afterwards, I didn't feel exhausted like I normally would after sweating that much, I felt incredibly energized.
Have you tried Zumba?
You should.
My friend got me a Groupon in our area for Zumba--TRY it! It's FANTASTIC.


Annnyywhooooo, back to these delicious Crepes.

Deliciousness wrapped in a perfect pancake-omelet.

**I must post a disclaimer: As I said in the last post, my camera was a little wonky during crepe-time--so these pictures may be a little funky. Also, I am not an excellent editor. But please, please don't let un-delicious looking pictures distract you from the deliciousness that this meal truly was. We all have our moments**

These ended up being very similar to enchiladas (in the step-by-step, not the ingredients or flavor.) You fill them, you roll them, you bake them, and you cover them with sauce. See the similarity?

Let me tell you something, though: These were better than enchiladas.
I am a huge enchilada lover, myself--and these were better. Why am I even talking about enchiladas?
These crepes, they are not enchiladas.
They are cheesy-chickeny-herby goodness, wrapped in a sort of pancake, sort of omelet, then smothered again in creamy, cheesy, goodness.

Um, yes please.

And now, I share with you--the secret of these heavenly bites...

Chicken & Asparagus Crepes

(Printable Version)
Adapted from here.
What is required:
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups shredded chicken
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (such as dill, parsley, mint, or chives), or...
      1 teaspoon of each dried herbs (I used thyme, parsley, and dill)
salt & pepper, of course
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 crepes (recipe here)
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 pound asparagus
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half & half, milk, or cream (whatever you have)
1 teaspoon lemon zest

First, shred the chicken into a medium bowl.

I just used 2 leftover chicken breasts leftover from the night before. You can do the same, or just boil and shred some or you can use rotisserie chicken.

Then add the ricotta.

Yep, that's ricotta--not ice cream.

Then grate some Parmesan...

My favorite part of grating cheese in when you do allll that work grating, then you finally get to lift the grater up, and you have a nice big cheese pile.

Add the Parmesan, herbs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper to the chicken mixture.

Mix it. Mix it good. Mix it....Mix it reeeeaaal good.

Next, you'll need a 9x13 baking dish, lightly sprayed.

In the dish, lay out 1 crepe, and spread a little of the chicken mixture on it.

Roll it up, and push it to the end.

Do it again....

And again.

Until all 8 crepes are rolled.

See, looks like enchiladas.

Stick this in a oven that's been preheated to 425˚ F.
No need to cover it. It will only be in there about 15 minutes--while we make the sauce.

For the sauce:

Chop up a shallot or 2 (I used 2, mine were small.)
Do you know what a shallot is?
A shallot is like an onion--but it has a much milder, sweeter flavor.

These are shallots:

But wait...Aren't those onions?

Nope--they're shallots. They're mini.
See:

Anywhooo, chop them up--just like you would an onion (be careful though, they're small.)


Then, get your asparagus ready.

First, cut the ends off (not the end shown in the picture--the other end....Someone in school cut off the end in the picture--oy.) You want to cut the dry parts off the end--they are just that, dry, and not good to eat.

To know where to cut, bend the asparagus gently.

It will bend naturally near the end...

Then bend a little harder...

And it will break naturally where it should be cut.

You don't have to do this to all of them, just one. Then you can chop the ends off the other ones about the same distance up as where the one broke.

*Can I just say that I'm mortified by my nails in these pictures. Please don't judge me by these pictures. Some people like chipped nails--like my old college roommate (Hi Mouch!). I; however, do not like chipped nails, and I can assure you that the problem has been addressed and the nails have since been properly manicured.*

Back to it, back to it...

Heat a skillet on medium-high heat.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter..
Then add the shallots.

Cook for about 1 minute, then add the asparagus.


Add the broth..

Then add the cream, salt, and pepper, and lemon zest.
Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, to thicken a bit.

Remove the crepes from the oven--serve with sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
YUM.

See! So easy!



I'm off to start my weekend...It's another gorgeous day--maybe I can convince the Boo to take the pup and I to the park...

Do you have any big weekend plans? Anything exciting happening in your neck of the woods?


soooon.

Enjoy!