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.

Baked Ziti With Meatballs

Baked Ziti with Meatballs
Serves 3 or 4 adults
 
24 ounces of pasta sauce - I used Paul Newman's Sockarooni
8 ounces Low Fat Cottage Cheese
2 cups of beef broth
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 1/2  cups ziti pasta - uncooked
10 ready-made mini meatballs thawed

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

 

In a large bowl mix together the pasta sauce, cottage cheese, beef stock, half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan cheese.

Toss the uncooked pasta and meatballs with the sauce and spread into a pan. Cover tightly and bake for 50 minutes.

Remove the cover and stir the contents. Sprinkle the remaining Mozzarella & Parmesan cheese on top and return to the oven. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Easy Strawberry Napoleon Recipe

Ingredients:

1 sheet (half of a 17 oz. pkg) frozen puff pastry*
1 (3.4 oz) pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup whipped topping
2 cup stemmed and sliced strawberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional)
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Thaw folded pastry sheet for 20 minutes. Open sheet and cut along folds to make three equal strips; halve each strip to make six rectangles. Space apart on baking sheet. Bake in center of oven about 15 minutes until well browned and baked through. Remove to rack to cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk pudding mix, milk, and extract for 2 minutes; fold in whipped topping and blend thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate.

Carefully split each piece of pastry in half horizontally. Cover bottom halves with almonds, then pudding mixture and sliced strawberries, dividing equally. Cover with pastry tops. Dust with powdered sugar.

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Slow-Cooked German Short Ribs

Slow-Cooked German Short Ribs

"Dust off your slow cooker. This recipe is worth it. I love coming home to a waiting meal!"

Ingredients

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 pounds beef short ribs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup chile sauce

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

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Directions

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons flour, salt, and pepper. Coat the short ribs with the flour mixture.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown short ribs in olive oil.

In a slow cooker, combine onions, wine, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and chili powder. Mix thoroughly. Transfer the short ribs from the skillet to the slow cooker.

Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

Remove ribs, and turn the slow cooker control to High. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour with 1/4 cup water, and stir into the sauce. Cook for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.