Amish White Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2/3 cup white sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup vegetable oil 6 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast . Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. 2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth . Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half.  Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans . Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. 4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Man-Pleasing Chicken

Note: use a dish just big enough for chicken

Ingredients

8 tsp Dijon mustard or Dijon honey mustard

8 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 chicken thighs

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix Dijon mustard, maple syrup and rice wine vinegar together in a bowl.

3. Place chicken thighs in oven proof dish salt and pepper chicken. I always spray my dish with cooking spray to help in cleaning later or line with foil saves you a lot of clean up.

4. Pour mustard, maple, vinegar mix over the the thighs. Turning the thighs over so they are fully coated.

5. Put in oven and bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 155 degrees. I find that a meat thermometer is essential in cooking because it allows me to check to see if done without cutting into the meat and losing its precious juices.

6. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.

7. Plate the chicken , making sure to spoon some sauce over the top. Sprinkle with sliced green onions, or rosemary or other fresh herbs of your choice.

Poached Chicken

Poached Chicken

INGREDIENTS

1 skinless chicken breast (1/2 pound)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

A couple pinches of salt

A couple pinches of dried herb of your choice - tarragon, oregano, basil, rosemary, or thyme, or some other seasonings such as cumin or paprika

Plastic wrap*

*Use a good quality plastic wrap that can withstand some heat. Look for packaging that indicates you can use the plastic wrap in a microwave oven. If it can handle a microwave oven, it will hold up in boiling water.

METHOD

1 Trim the fat and coat chicken pieces in lemon juice, salt, and herbs: Trim all the fat from the chicken breast and slice it lengthwise. In a small bowl mix the lemon juice, salt, and herbs.

Add the chicken pieces and coat all over with lemon juice mixture.

Let the chicken pieces sit in the lemon juice while you heat the water in the next step.

2 Bring a pot of water (2 1/2 quarts of water, 4 quart pot) to a high simmer.

3 Roll up the chicken in plastic wrap: Roll out a long sheet of plastic wrap at least twice as long as the chicken breast slices. Place 1 chicken strip on the plastic wrap, in the middle. Roll up the chicken in the plastic wrap tightly.

Compress as much air out of the chicken as you can as you roll it. Once the chicken is rolled up, rotate it on your cutting board or counter several times to tighten the cylinder even more. Tie the loose ends of the plastic wrap together in a double knot. Repeat with the second chicken strip.

4 Poach chicken in hot water: Once the water has reached a high simmer, turn off the heat (keep the pot on the burner though) and drop the rolled-up chicken cylinders in the pot. Cover the pot and let the chicken steep for 15 minutes.

The chicken should be cooked through by then. (If for some reason the chicken is not cooked through, for example if you are using larger than called for breasts, or if you are using frozen chicken that hadn't quite defrosted before cooking, you can always put the chicken back in the poaching liquid for a few more minutes.)

5 To serve, snip off the tied ends of the plastic wrap, and unwrap. Note that there will be some juice inside the plastic wrap with the chicken, which has lots of flavor. So you might want to unwrap the chicken pieces over a bowl to catch the juice, which you can then pour over the chicken if you want. Or serve the chicken with a sauce of your choice.

Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Creamy Parmesan Garlic Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Salt Pepper
2 ounces sliced mushrooms


Creamy Parmesan Garlic Sauce:
2 TBL butter
1 garlic cloves, minced
½  tablespoon flour
¼ cup chicken broth
½  cup heavy cream or half and half
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
½  cup spinach, chopped


Instructions
In a large skillet add olive oil and cook the chicken on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown on each side and cooked until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until tender. Remove and set aside.
To make the sauce add the butter and melt. Add garlic and cook until tender. Whisk in the flour until it thickens. Whisk in chicken broth, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Add the spinach and let simmer until it starts to thicken and spinach wilts. Add the chicken and ,mushrooms back to the sauce and serve over pasta is desired.

P.S. I use Turkey Cutlets too sometimes.