Cheese Blintz

Batter for crepes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

two eggs

1/2-teaspoon vanilla

1/2-teaspoon baking powder

1/2-teaspoon sa

Butter for the pan

For filling:

1-cup cottage cheese

1-cup soft farmer cheese, or softened cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4-teaspoon vanilla

On the side:

Sour cream

Strawberry preserves

powdered sugar

Use a whiskto blend together all the crepe ingredients except the butter for the pan in a large bowl. Blend just until smooth. The batter will be very thin.Combine the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix by hand. Keep; the filling nearby.Preheat a 10" frying pan over medium heat. (This size pan tapers to about 8" at the bottom.) When the pan is hot, add about 1/2 teaspoon of butter. When the butter has melted, pour 1/3 cup of batter into the pan. Swirl the batter so that it entirely coats the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Use a spatula to lift an edge of the crepe. Grab it with your finger, slip the spatula underneath, and quickly flip it over. Cook for another 1-1/2 minutes or until a bit lighter shade of brown than the first side, then slide it out of the pan. Repeat with the rest of the batter, and stack the finished crepes on top of each other to keep them warm. Heat the cheese filling in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes or until it is hot. When ready to fill the crepes, place each crepe, dark side down, on a plate. Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of cheese filling across the center of the crepe. Fold the sides in and turn the entire blintz over (to hide the seam) onto a serving plate. You can use a knife to cut the rounded edges off the blintzes if you like. Repeat with remaining blintzes. Serve 2 to 3 blintzes on a plate with a dollop of sour cream and two dollops of strawberry preserves carefully arranged on the plate next to the blintzes. Sprinkle the blintzes with powdered sugar. If you would like to make this recipe with a lowfat or nonfat filling, replace the cream cheese or farmer's cheese with strained yogurt-a yogurt sold that is thick like cheese. To make it, pour a cup of lowfat or nonfat yogurt into a coffee filter placed inside a strainer. Put the strainer over a bowl and into the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours so that all of the liquid whey strains out of the yogurt. What you have left in the strainer is a thick, nutritious yogurt cheese that can be used in place of cream cheese or sour cream in this recipe and many others