Amish Pumpkin Bread

Rainy days are good for baking. That's what set about my search for one of my husband's favorite desserts - pumpkin raisin bread. I found an Amish pumpkin bread recipe on Alicia's Recipes and decided to try it.

One nice thing about Amish recipes is that the ingredients are usually simple kitchen staples. I had everything on hand to make it.  My changes are in bold in the ingredients + I halved the recipe to make only one loaf.

Amish Pumpkin Bread

3 c. granulated sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 lb. canned pumpkin
3 1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. water
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt (scant)
1/2 tsp. ground cloves  - I used 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of all of these spices
1 tsp. EACH: cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg
3/4 raisins to the batter

Instructions
Mix sugar, oil and eggs together. Add pumpkin. Then add dry ingredient and finally water, stirring just until mixed. Pour batter into two (2) greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one (1) hour. Especially good spread with cream cheese.

The baked bread was a little dry on the outside but still moist on the inside. If I were to make it again, I'd add a little more liquid to the recipe.

** Note**  I added 7 minutes to the baking time to bring the middle of the loaf to "almost set". Do not bake it until the center is completely done or you will overcook the outside of the loaf.

I'm adding this recipe to the November Blog event at Cooking with Alicia & Annie. Give it a look and join in on the fun!

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken & Lazy Man's Pierogies

We're feeling Steelers Fever around here! To bring part of Pittsburgh to our dinner table, I created a shortcut to the beloved pierogi - a lazy man's pierogie casserole. It contains all of the ingredients that potato and cheese pierogies hold--potatoes, dumplings (lasagna noodles), cheddar cheese, fried onions in butter. YUM!

I have to warn you, though....if you are on a diet, I cannot be held responsible if you fall off the wagon after seeing these pictures and reading the recipe!

I also tried a new recipe for teriyaki chicken. The teriyaki marinade and dipping sauce are a nice combo of sweet and spicy. I found the recipe in an old recipe book called "Woman's Circle Treasured Recipes". This one is definitely a keeper.

Lazy Man's Pierogie Casserole

What you need: 

1 box of lasagna noodles - cooked al dente, and cooled
7 medium to large Idaho potatoes - peeled and diced small
1/2 - 1 C. warm milk
1/4 C. sour cream
1 1/2 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
salt - to taste
black pepper - to taste
1 stick of butter
2 medium onions - peeled, sliced thin
1 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions: 

Preheat over to 350*

Cook lasagna noodles, rinse well and set aside to cool.

Peel potatoes. Dice into small pieces. Add potatoes to a pot and cover with cold water. Cover pot with a lid and place on stove to cook over medium-high heat. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt the stick of butter in a frying pan. Separate onion rings and add to pan. Cook onions until they are soft and start browning. Remove from heat and set aside.



Drain potatoes, add to a large mixing bowl. Add in sour cream and 1/2 C. warm milk. Use a hand mixer to beat everything together. Add the remaining 1/2 C. of warm milk as needed to cream potatoes.

Stir in 1 1/2 C. cheddar cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

To Assemble:

Spoon some of the melted butter from the onions into the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Spread the butter around to cover the bottom of the pan.

Use 4 lasagna noodles to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cover the noodles with mashed potatoes, using half of the potatoes.

Spread 1/3 of the onions and butter on top of the mashed potatoes.



Continue with another layer of noodles, potatoes and onions.

Top the casserole with a final layer of noodles. Spread the remaining 1/3 onions over top.

Sprinkle 1 C. cheddar cheese over the top.

Cover the dish with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered. Remove foil and continue to bake for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes for easier cutting.

**Optional**  Serve with gravy or sour cream if desired.

**Extra**  You can easily add a layer of well-drained canned sauerkraut to the middle of the casserole if you like the potato/sauerkraut pierogies.




Grilled Boneless Teriyaki Chicken Breasts

2 1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts, thawed if frozen

For marinade:
1/2 C. lemon juice
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. chili sauce - I used Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients, including chicken. Refrigerate from 4 hours to overnight. I recommend marinating it overnight for a stronger flavor.

Remove chicken from marinade and grill as usual. Discard any leftover marinade.

For dipping sauce:
1/3 C. Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce
1/4 C. Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1 -2 TBSP soy sauce

Instructions:

Stir everything together. Microwave to warm up. Adjust ingredients to taste - I would rate this sauce as medium hot. Add more bbq sauce for less heat--more chili sauce for more heat.



Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm getting better at menu planning but I'm not getting any better at following it through for the entire week. My hubby works 3rd shift with Thursday and Friday off, so we are usually out running around doing things. We usually don't make it home in time for dinner...especially on Friday. So much for a plan.....   I'm trying -- really trying to work things out so that we will be at home to eat. Hopefully one of these days I will figure it out. In the meantime, I will keep planning meals for those days.

Sunday - leftovers

Monday - grilled teriyaki chicken & lazy man's (woman's lol!) pierogies

Tuesday - crockpot stew

Wednesday - Reuben sandwiches w/ mushroom barley soup - Making a change. Tonight's dinner will be rigatoni with sauce since my husband requested it.

Thursday - chicken chimichangas with fried noodles (I'm making haluski for me since I didn't make it last week)  Donna I hope that you see this!!

Friday - tacos & Spanish rice


I will link to the recipes as I make them each day.

If you're looking for new ideas to add to your menu, be sure to check out all of the menus for this week at Menu Plan Monday.

Maple Leaf Shortbread Cookies

I love shortbread cookies. This maple-flavored cookie melts in your mouth and is so good. I used 3 different sizes of mini maple leaf cookie cutters to cut out the cookies, and then stacked them big -to - little once I frosted them. The vibrant colors are so pretty and festive for Thanksgiving!

Maple Leaf Shortbread Cookies

What You Need
2 1/2 C. flour
1 C. butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 C. sugar
1 TBSP maple flavoring
powdered sugar icing - recipe below
red, yellow, green, brown & orange paste food coloring
colored sugars and sprinkles
maple leaf cookie cutters

What You Do
Using an electric mixer beat together butter, sugar and maple flavoring until mix is thoroughly blended. Stir in flour and continue mixing until everything is combined. I used my hands at the end to make sure everything was combined.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350*

Sprinkle sugar lightly over the area where you are going to roll out the cookies. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with sugar, too. Using a gentle hand, roll the dough out to about 1/2 in. thick. Using the leaf-shaped cookie cutters cut out cookies then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Keep a close eye on them to make sure to not over bake. Remove immediately to cooling racks. Cool completely before icing the cookies.

What you need for icing:
1 C. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp maple flavoring
Milk

Mix together the powdered sugar and maple flavoring. Stir in 1 tsp. of milk at a time until a thick but spreadable icing is achieved.

Divide the icing into small bowls and use the food coloring to tint each bowl a different color.

Ice the cookies and top with colored sugars or sprinkles, if desired.

Scarecrow Cheese Ball

I created this scarecrow cheese ball for FamilyCorner.com. As their kids' recipe creator, I've had so much fun cooking up fun, whimsy foods for kids...and adults!

This guy is all dressed up and ready to appear on your Thanksgiving table. This is one time that you won't have to worry about a scarecrow shooing away the birds!

Scarecrow Cheese Ball

What You Need

1 - 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 small can of deviled ham
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (not salt!)
1 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt!)
1 lg carrot
black olives
thin wheat crackers
1/2 C. pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
1 celery stalk


Getting Ready

Gather ingredients for the cookies according list above.

Make sure that children use pot holders and have some handy wipes or a sink nearby to wash hands.

Now you are ready to start making a scarecrow cheese ball...


Now that your supplies are at the ready and your work surface has been prepared, let's begin!

What You Do

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, deviled ham, cheddar cheese, Garlic and onion powder until well combined. Remove approximately 1/4 of the mixture for the "shirt collar" and set aside. Using the remainder of the cheese mixture, shape it into a ball and place it on the platter that you will be using to serve it on. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, gently flatten the circle to 3/4 inch thickness and smooth out the top top of the cheese ball. With the extra cheese mixture that you set aside, form it into a rectangle and lay it underneath the circle. Shape to form the collar of a shirt.

For the face:

1. Clean and peel carrot. Slice 2 round circles from the carrot for eyes. Grate the remaining carrot to use for "straw" on the scarecrow.
2. Slice off the ends of 2 black olives to use as pupils on the carrots. Chop up 1-2 olives to use for a mouth.
3. Clean and trim the stalk of celery. Slice of one piece for the nose

Assemble the face.

Cover the "shirt collar" part of cheese ball with chopped nuts. I've found it easiest to use a butter knife or small spatula to gently press the nuts into the cheese ball. Easily wipe up any nuts that may have fallen with a wet paper towel - the nuts will stick to the wet paper.

Sprinkle some shredded carrots around the top of the collar and around the hairline on the scarecrow.

Use the thin wheat crackers to form his hat. **Refer to the picture for a pattern.

This is a kid-friendly recipe. For a spicier version, you can add Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper to the cheese ball mix.

If you will not be eating this right away, you should refrigerate the scarecrow without the crackers until you are ready to eat it. Allow to come to room temperature before eating for easier spreading.

Serve with extra celery and carrots, if desired.