Amish Friendship Pancakes

 Remember that one time I got Amish Friendship Starter? And I made that delicious bread? Yeah, it was awesome. And then I got creative and used that starter to make sourdough pancakes. They were so good.

And there are so many options! Add cinnamon for that traditional "Amish Friendship Bread" taste, or just top it off with a cinnamon syrup. Or add fruit like I do to my bread. 

These sourdough pancakes have that delicious sourdough tang, and they are still fluffy and a tiny bit sweet. 

These are a great alternative when you get tired of your Amish Friendship Bread or if you just want to try something new!

On your baking day (Day 10 or something), do this:

Add 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup flour to your starter bag. Mash it all. Now it is ready to use!

In a large bowl combine:

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Amish Friendship Starter

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsps oil (or applesauce)

1 tsp vanilla

Next add dry ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Mix until smooth. It might take a little while to get the lumps out, but just keep mixing. Once smooth, spoon batter on to hot griddle and cook both sides. Top with a favorite syrup or jam. 

Amish Friendship Bread

A friend from my church brought over a cute little loaf of Amish Friendship Bread and a starter bag for me. And I ate the whole loaf that night. My husband didn't even get any. It was so delicious and I knew I must have more. So I went for it. After the 10 days I dutifully divided up my starter, made my bread (with a few variations) and then gifted my new starter bags to family. Life was wonderful. And I am sure many of you who have done this whole process are shaking your heads and laughing at my niavete of the whole process. Just you wait Cynthia, this delicious bread is crazy and will take over your life! Get out while you can! But guess what? 

Amish Friendship Bread doesn't have to be crazy! You can forget to mash your bag a few times, you can add ingredients a day late, you can stick your starter in the freezer if you need a break! I promise it won't kill it! So dive in and give it a try! Research online for variations, ideas and information, it is kinda fun. 

Also check out this link from my sister in law about controlling your bread. It was great. 

http://makeitfromscratch.blogspot.com/2009/01/take-control-of-your-amish-friendship.html

Traditional Amish Friendship Bread Instructions

Day 1: Friend gives you a starter bag! Lucky you!

Day 2: Stir the mix, or mash the bag.

Day 3: Mash the bag

Day 4: Mash the bag

Day 5: Add to your bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Mash the bag. 

Day 6: Mash the bag

Day 7: Mash the bag

Day 8: Mash the bag

Day 9: Mash the bag

Day 10:  The day has arrived! Do all this:

          Add to bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Mash the bag

          Divide mix: Measure 1 cup of mix in to 4 bags (3 for friends, 1 for you) . Label bags and add the date. 

          Make bread: Pour remaining mix in to a NON METAL bowl and follow the recipe below.

Basic Recipe:

2/3 cup oil
3 eggs

1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 box Instant Vanilla Pudding (optional, but totally delicious. If you don't use the dry pudding, just omit the milk)

Using NON METAL spoon, beat by hand until well blended. 

In a seperate bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tsps cinnamon. Grease two loaf pans or line with parchment paper, dust pans with cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour batter in to pans and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. 

Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (individual oven temperatures vary). Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans. Makes two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread.

See? Not to bad. But again, don't worry if you can't follow the instructions to a T. 

Sausage & Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole

My sister in law made these for some family function or another. They are so good, it's like biscuits and cheesy gravy in a bar form. They are convenient for big groups, delicious and super easy to make (only 3 ingredients!).

Pillsbury makes the coolest thing. Crescent roll dough in one sheet! Think of all the possibilities!

Stuff it with a cream cheese and sausage mixture

Add another dough sheet and bake until golden brown. 

Make these. They are so good. And so easy, you have not reason not to. 

Sausage & Crescent Roll Casserole

1 lb of sausage ( I recommend Hot or Maple)
8oz package of Cream Cheese
2 rolls of Seamless Crescent Roll Dough

Cook sausage, add cream cheese into warm pan until incorporated. Lay dough in ungreased 9X13 pan. Top with sausage mixture and layer with another dough sheet. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Eat warm!

Honey Almond Chia Seed Pudding with Strawberries

I first had this little guy at a work retreat.  One of our chefs brought it as an example of a creative way to use a healthy grain. She gave a presentation about how to use quinoa in salads and incorporating millet and farro in soups and such. It was a cool presentation, but this visual aid was my favorite. And the best part? It is so stupid easy to make. 

Chia seeds do this really cool thing when they get wet. They expand and form a jelly like coating that instantly thickens whatever they were added to. I love them in my smoothies or you can even add them to plain water. They remind me a bit of tapioca, so if you are not a tapioca pudding fan, you probably wont like this. Just a heads up. 

And like with most of my recipes, it is easily adapted to fit your dietary needs and taste preferences. But here is how I made it, and it turned out delicious. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Honey Greek Yogurt (I recommend Greek Gods brand)

3/4 cup Vanilla Almond Milk (unsweetened)

2 Tablespoons whole chia seeds

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons sliced/slivered almonds

Directions: 

Combine yogurt, milk and chia seeds in bowl. Mix well and let sit for 10 min. In a separate bowl toss strawberries and honey and let sit. When ready to serve, spoon pudding, strawberries and almonds in to a bowl, parfait style if you want. Enjoy!

Peach Cobbler Muffins

Have I talked about how much I love peaches? They are right up there with lemons. I can't think of a better fruit than a ripe peach from a farmer's market. And oh those beautiful peachy colors! Peaches are so great, I wanted them in my wedding. I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but we had peach cobbler at our wedding instead of wedding cake. It was amazing, and made for a nice display. 

Anyways, I think I first made these muffins for a camping trip. They were a sweet, portable breakfast of sorts. I know this post is terribly out of season, but I figured we could use a little summer in the midst of this cold winter. 

Peach Cobbler Muffins 

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

A dash of milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups white sugar

2 cups peeled, pitted, and chopped peaches

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 16 muffin cups.

2.      In a large bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, milk, eggs, and sugar. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture just until moist. Fold in the peaches. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.

3.      Bake 20-23 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Whole Wheat Kernel Buttermilk Pancakes in the Blender

These are pretty wonderful pancakes. My mom found the recipe just a little while ago and every time we come home to visit she makes them for us. There are only a few ingredients and making them in a blender means they take no time at all.

These pancakes work best if you have a high powered blender (my Blendtec is pretty much the most amazing thing ever), but I think they will be ok in a normal blender. 

Whole wheat kernals make these pancakes rich and almost nutty. I assume you can buy them at a grocery store, or at least a healthy food store. I stole mine from my mom.... so I am no help.

The recipe makes the batter quite thick, which I enjoy, but it does mean you have to spread the batter yourself with a spoon. If you don't want to worry about this and enjoy thinner pancakes, go ahead and add a little more buttermilk. 

Wheat Kernel Buttermilk Blender Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat kernels

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1-2 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1egg

Combine wheat kernels and buttermilk in blender. Blend on high for 60 seconds, until mixture is smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend for an additional 30 seconds on high. Pour or scoop batter on to butter greased skillet. When small bubbles begin to form on pancake, flip over and cook for another 30 seconds. Serve warm with butter and syrup. 

Banana Cream Pie Crepes

I love random holidays. Especially the ones involving food. It's like your week's menu was planned out for you by the universe. I mean, once you know March 2nd is Banana Cream Pie Day, how can you not make a Banana Cream Pie?

Except I didn't feel like making a pie crust. So I got creative and made these Banana Cream Pie Crepes. Pretty genius, I know. They were a big hit with the boys (no surprise there when you serve dessert for breakfast). 

And they are super easy. Crepe, sliced banana, vanilla pudding, whipped cream. 

Here is the crepe recipe I used. I liked it. I don't know if it is the very best one out there, but it worked. 

1 cup flour

2 eggs

¾ cup milk

½ cup water

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp melted butter

Combine all wet ingredients, except butter. Sift in flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Add butter.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Enjoy with any variety of toppings.