Chicken and Spinach Filled Crepes

Need something easy but just a little fancy for a dinner party? This is delicious, and much of it can be done ahead of time--bonus when you're entertaining! You can freeze the basic crepes by stacking them with wax paper in between each crepe; I tried the freezing trick with a different recipe and had mixed success--you may want to test drive that feature before "counting" on it.

Chicken and Spinach Filled Crepes
~Heart and Soul, a Memphis Jr League Cookbook

• 1 pound fresh spinach or one 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
• 10 T. butter or margarine, divided
• 8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms (3 cups)
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 t. salt, divided (or less--to taste; if you use Parm instead of Swiss, you'll need less salt)
• dash pepper
• 2 c. milk
• 1 c. chicken broth (we use low-sodium)
• 1 1/2 c. finely shredded Swiss cheese (6 ounces), divided (can also use Parm)
• 2 T. cooking oil
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 2 T. pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 t. finely shredded lemon peel
• 1/2 t. dried chervil, crushed (I leave out)
• 3 1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken
• 12 Crepes

1. Wash fresh spinach; remove stems. In a 3-quart saucepan, cook spinach in a small amount of boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, squeezing out excess liquid; chop. (If using frozen, simply thaw and squeeze out water--I go this route!).
2. For sauce, in a 10-inch skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add mushrooms; cook and stir over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a 1-quart saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the remaining butter. Stir in flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add milk and chicken broth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in 1 cup of cheese until melted. Stir in mushrooms. Set aside (can also refrigerate at this point if making early in the day; reheat gently before proceeding).
3. For filling, in a 12-inch skillet, heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter and cooking oil. Add onion and cook over medium heat until tender. Stir in pine nuts, if using, the remaining salt, lemon peel, and chervil, if using. Stir in chicken, cooked spinach, and 1 cup of the sauce. (Again, you can make this earlier in the day and reheat gently before proceeding).
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the filling down the center of the unbrowned side of each crepe. Roll up crepes. Place crepes, seam side down, in a buttered 12x7.5x2-inch baking dish. Spread the remaining sauce over the top of the crepes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is lightly browned.

~Makes 6 servings.