Amish Friendship Bread

Amish Friendship Bread

(Must receive a starter from someone first)

Do NOT use any type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing
Do NOT refrigerate starter
Gas (from the fermenting yeast) will form in the bag and when it does just open the top of the bag and let it out—It’s normal for the batter to rise, bubble and ferment

Day 1 – Do Nothing (this is the day you receive the bread)
Day 2 – Smush the bag
Day 3 – Smush the bag
Day 4 – Smush the bag
Day 5 – Smush the bag
Day 6 – Add the following to the bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup of milk
Day 7 – Smush the bag
Day 8 – Smush the bag
Day 9 – Smush the bag
Day 10 – Follow the instructions below:

1. Pour the entire contents of the bag into a NON Metal bowl.
2. Add 1 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar and 1 ½ cups milk. Beat with electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.
3. Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into four 1 gallon Ziploc bags. (There will be around 2 ½ cups of the starter left in the bowl.) Mark each bag with date.
4. Keep one starter for yourself and give the other three to friends along with a copy of the recipe.
(If you can’t pass it on to a friend on the first day, be sure to tell your friend which day the bag is at when you give it to them.)

Directions for baking the bread:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease or spray with baking spray the bottoms only (not sides) of 2 large
(9x5-inch) loaf pans.
2. Optional: In small bowl, combine an additional ½ cup sugar and 1½ teaspoons cinnamon; dust the greased pans with ½ of mixture. The second half of this mixture is sprinkled on top of the batter.
3. To the remaining batter in the bowl add:
3 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup oil 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 cups flour
1 large box (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding

4. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until batter is smooth.
5. Pour batter evenly into pans; sprinkle remaining sugar mixture over the top, if desired.
6. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool about 10 minutes; run spatula around edges of pan to loosen loaf. Remove bread from pan; place on cooling rack. Serve warm or cold.

If you keep a starter for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days. The bread is very good and makes great gifts. Only the Amish know how to create the starter, so if you give them all away you will have to wait until someone gives you one back. Enjoy!

Pineapple Cream Cheese Cake

From a recipe exchange email

Pineapple Cream Cheese Cake


Ingredients:
1 box of yellow cake mix (prepared according to the package directions
and baked in a 9x13)
12 oz. cream cheese (room temp)
1 - 8 oz. carton Cool whip
1 - 5.1 ounce package Instant vanilla pudding
2 cups 2% or whole milk
1 can of Crushed Pineapple

Preparation:
Prepare the cake in a cake pan according to the directions on the box
(do not remove from the pan after done).
While cake is baking prepare the topping.

In a large mixing bowl add the pudding mix and 2 cups of milk, blend
until it starts to thicken. Add the softened cream cheese into the
mixture and blend until smooth. (There will be a few tiny lumps, don't
worry about them).
Fold in the cool whip with a spatula or a large spoon gently. After
mixed, cover and refrigerate.

When cake is cool, take a large fork and poke holes evenly all over the
top. Spoon the pineapple evenly over the cake (juice and all). Take
the pudding and cool whip mixture and spread evenly over the top. Chill
for 2 hours before serving.

Notes:
Can be made ahead of time.
Nuts and marchino cherries can be put on top.

Crustless Tex-Mex Meatloaf-Cheddar Pie

Crustless Tex-Mex Meatloaf-Cheddar Pie

Silvana Nardone

From Every Day with Rachael Ray
May 2008

SERVES 8
Prep Time: 20 min
Bake Time: 45 min

Turn meatloaf into an easy, cheesy pie.

One 16-ounce jar fire-roasted red peppers drained, split and seeded
12 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend (3 cups)
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
One 16-ounce jar chunky salsa
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper



1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 10-inch pie plate lightly with olive oil and line with the red peppers. Scatter 1 cup cheese on top.

2. In a large bowl, mix 1 cup cheese, the beef, 3/4 cup of the salsa, the bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper until just combined. Press into the pepper-and-cheese-lined pie plate. Spread the remaining salsa over the top. Bake for 35 minutes.

3. Scatter the remaining 1 cup cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes longer. Let cool for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Chicken for Chicken Tacos

I found this online awhile ago....

1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 jar Trader Joe's Chunky Salsa
1 packet Lawry's Chicken Taco Seasoning

I put it in the crockpot this morning for 8 hours. SO GOOD!!!

Chicken and Rice

From Katie, Mark's Sister

-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-1 soup can of milk
-3/4 cup rice, uncooked
-1-4oz can mushroom pieces
-1 envelope onion soup mix
-chicken, cut up

Mix mushroom soup & milk. Reserve 1/2 of mixture. Mix remaining soup mixture, rice, mushrooms (w/ liquid) and 1/2 onion soup. Pour into 9x13" pan. Place chicken on top. Pour reserved soup mix over chicken; sprinkle w/ remaining onion soup. Cover w/ foil. Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and cook 15 minutes longer.


This shouldn't be dry at all. Tonight I made it w/ just 2 chicken breasts in a 9x9" pan so we didn't have too many leftovers but had a lot more rice.