Fun with Amish Friendship Bread

While I was home over the 4th of July, one of my sisters sent me home with a starter bag of Amish friendship bread. I was happy to take it. It had been at least a year if not two since we last had a batch, and the bread is never a disappointment. If you've never had Amish Friendship Bread, here's the story. I wonder which keeps going longer, an batch of this bread or the energizer bunny? Well we made our first batch that was delicious, then I had the three batches to share. Well, with the new baby in the house and with Norah keeping us on our toes with lots of appointments right now, I ended up having two bags of starter left, that's enough for eight batches, I like this bread but that's 16 loaves of bread, let's not get crazy. I started to search for recipes that others have made with this mix and I was not disappointed with the variety of recipes I found. Here are two that we tried and tweaked that I had to share and with what was left I put in my freezer. I think that Jason will demand the struesel instead of just the bread from now on. Yup, it's that good.

 

 

Amish Friendship Brownies

In a bowl, combine and mix well:

• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup Amish Batter

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

• 2 cups flour
• 1- 1/2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 box instant chocolate pudding
• 3 ½ Tbsp of cocoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into well greased and sugared 12.5 x17.5 jelly roll pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Start to check after 25 minutes. Once cool frost with chocolate buttercream frosting.

 

Amish Friendship Streusel

This recipe is just following the basic recipe, it just making the streusal part and baking it that's different.

BASIC RECIPE:
To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.

• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup walnut or pecans (optional)

Streusal Topping

• 1 stick butter at room temp
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1 C flour
• cinnamon - as much or little as you like

Mix/cut the ingredients together.

 

Pour ½ of the batter into a greased and sugared 9 x13 glass baking dish. Top with ½ of streusel, then add remaining batter and finish with remaining streusel. Bake as at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean, start to check after 35 minutes.


Next time, I think we are going to try lemon poppy seed bread, I hope it's as good as these.

 

Salsa Pizza

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe, I blame my pregnancy. I had little desire to cook while I was pregnant, many smells made me nauseous. The thought of handling raw meat, no thank you. Now that Mason has been here a couple weeks I been picking up the pace with wanting to cook and try new things again.

This is a quick meal to make and I love that Grant helped me makes these this time. I have been trying to find more easy recipes that he can help me out.  To me, this is also more of summer meal. I believe it turns out best if you use the Boboli pizza crust.

The recipe -

1 Boboli Pizza Crust
Salsa (I like you fruit salsa, like pineapple)
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Grilled Chicken, cubed

Use as much or little as you like for your toppings, bake it in the oven, and then enjoy!!

**Please notice the flowers in the first picture. My wonderful husband gave those to me for our 8th Wedding Anniversary that we celebrated the day after Mason came home from the hospital. We had experienced a couple crazy days, so he thought it was appropriate to celebrate with crazy daisies. They brought me nearly three weeks of brightness and joy to my kitchen.This picture was taken as we were nearing the end of week two. Jason and I kept joking the lasted so long because of all the preservatives that must have been in the flower dye. Thank you Jason for being the love of my life and taking this amazing journey with me.

Bread Pudding for Dinner??

I'm a fan of bread pudding, but it has always been for dessert, never the main course. After I stumble upon this recipe, I couldn't wait to try it. I was still unsure of how it would taste, would it ruin my like for bread pudding all together?

Well it was a hit including the kiddos. The original recipe called for chopped chicken, but I had some left over turket breast that I used. I love finding ways of using leftover meats, Jason is not a fan of reheated meat.  I would highly recommend trying this with your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

Turkey, Mushroom and Asparagus Bread Pudding
Adapted from The Sweets Life

Ingredients:


-4 cups whole grain bread cubes

-1 onion, chopped

-1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
-4 cups mushrooms, chopped into quarters

-3 cups of chopped turkey (or chicken)

-1 tbsp vegetable oil

-1/8 tsp pepper

-1 1/2 cups milk

-5 eggs

-1 cup shredded Italian cheese



Directions:

1. Place bread cubes on an ungreased baking sheet and toast at 350F for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and cook until soft (approximately 8 minutes). Add the asparagus, lower heat and cover, cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and pepper, cover, and cook for an additional five minutes.

3. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread bread cubes in the dish and top with vegetable mixture and chicken.

4. In a blender, mix milk, and eggs. Pour blended mixture over the bread. Top with cheese.

5. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving warm.

White Chicken Enchiladas

Yum, yum, yummy, yum. Did I mentions these are yummy?

These have become a favorite in our house this summer after I discovered the recipe on another blog, Cassie Craves, worth checking out. Hope you enjoy.

White Chicken Enchiladas 
Souorce: Cassie Craves

8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese, divided

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 can chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 7-ounce can diced green chiles

Cilantro for garnish, if desired


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together 1 cup of the cheese and the chicken. Place an equal amount of the mixture into each tortilla, roll up and place seam side down into a 9 x 13-inch pan.

2. In a skillet or saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sour cream and green chiles. Pour over the top of the enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
 
**I have also substitutes shredded beef and pork from left over roast for the chicken, I think I may like shredded pork the best in this recipe. ~Jen

Craisin Pecan Chicken Pasta Salad

When we were at my parent's cabin over the 4th of July, my mom made this fantastic salad. I can't tell how yummy it is, you have to try it. This recipe makes alot, you may want to cut it in half.

1 Rotisserie Chicken
1 bottle Kraft Creamy Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
1 onion, diced
1 lb Farfalle pasta, cooked, rinsed and drained
2 c. Craisins
1 c. Chopped Pecans


Remove chicken from bones, discard skin, then cut up meat.
In large bowl place cook pasta, coat with dressing. Mix in the craisins, onions and pecans.
Chill for at least an hour, then serve.

Enjoy!

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

I'd like to share my favorite recipe of this summer that we have been eating around here. I don't know wha's best about this recipe, it's health, super easy and fast to make, and uses fresh ingredients easy to find at the farmer's market. I hope you try it and enjoy!

Adapted from Kraft Foods

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, divided
3 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese or Shredded Swiss Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil


Cover half the grill with sheet of foil, then heat grill to medium.

Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Add 2 Tbsp. dressing; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.

Combine remaining dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.
Place chicken on uncovered side of grill; cover with lid. Grill 6 min.

Turn chicken over; placing it on the foil. Top with tomato mixture. Grill, covered for 8 min. or until chicken is done.