The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook (22 page)

2 lb. stew meat, cubed

2 T. oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 package onion soup mix, dry

1 can water

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup sour cream

cooked rice

Brown the stew meat in the oil. Add onion and continue to cook for several minutes until onion is limp. Add the soup, dry soup mix, water, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low for about 45 minutes or until meat is tender. When ready to serve, add the sour cream and heat thoroughly but do not boil.

Serve on a bed of rice.

Busy Day Ham Casserole

1½ cups cooked ham, cubed

1 cup potatoes, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

½ cup peas, fresh or frozen

½ cup canned green beans

1 T. flour

your favorite biscuit recipe

½ cup grated Cheddar cheese

1 tsp. dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ham in a small amount of oil and then add the potatoes, carrots, and enough water so they don’t stick while cooking. Cook until tender and then add the peas, green beans, and just enough boiling water to cover them.

Stir together the flour with enough cold water to make a very thin paste. Add this to the meat and vegetables while stirring
constantly. Pour mixture into a large casserole or baking dish with sides that give plenty of room for mixture to bubble up while baking.

Drop biscuit dough, to which you add the cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper, on top of the casserole and bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until done.

In recent years, some Amish families have earned money by preparing and serving meals to groups of tourists. These groups are served many of the recipes found in this book…nothing gourmet, but rib-sticking meals that the Amish eat every day. They finish these hearty meals off with a variety of pies, and no one goes away hungry.

Cabbage Casserole with Hamburger

2 heads cabbage, chopped

1 lb. hamburger

½ cup onion, chopped

1 pint sour cream

1 large can tomato juice (about 1 quart)

1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

Boil the cabbage and drain. Brown the hamburger and onion; drain.

In a large bowl, mix everything together, pour into a large baking dish, and bake at 400° for 45 minutes. (Check the casserole while baking and turn down the oven temperature if it looks as though your casserole is browning too quickly.)

Calico Beans

1 lb. hamburger

5 strips bacon, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

½ cup catsup

¾ cup brown sugar

1 T. prepared mustard

1 T. vinegar

1 15-oz. can baked beans

1 15-oz. can kidney beans

1 1-oz. can butter beans

In a skillet, brown the hamburger, bacon, and onion. Drain.

In a large bowl, mix together the catsup, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar. Drain the beans and mix them together with the above ingredients. Add the hamburger mixture and mix well again.

Put into a baking pan and bake at 325° for 1 hour.

It might come as a surprise to learn that the Amish are not adverse to credit cards. But it depends on the area—some congregations use credit cards regularly, while others do not.

Chicken and Pimento Loaf

1 cup bread crumbs

½ cup milk

3 cups cooked chicken, diced

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

3 eggs, separated

2 T. melted butter

¼ cup chopped pimentos

In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and milk and let stand 10 minutes to soften crumbs. Then add the chicken, salt, pepper, egg yolks, butter, and pimentos and mix well.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the chicken mixture. Butter a large loaf pan or square baking dish and spoon the chicken mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Chicken Party Buns

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 cup cooked chicken (you can also use leftover turkey)

1 tsp. lemon juice

½ cup mayonnaise

2 T. diced celery

2 T. diced onion

2 T. diced green pepper

2 chopped hard-boiled eggs

1 package hamburger buns

Mix together all the ingredients except for the buns. Pile the chicken mixture onto the hamburger buns and wrap each of them in aluminum foil.

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 325° and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes.

Chicken Potpie

5 lb. meaty chicken pieces on the bone

2 carrots, halved

3 stalks celery, halved

1 onion, quartered

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to season

Potpie Sauce (recipe follows)

pastry for a double crust, unbaked

In a large stockpot, combine the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cover completely with water. Cover the pot and bring contents to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is done and vegetables are tender; do not drain broth. Remove the chicken from the pot and cool slightly so you can remove the meat from the bones. Remove the carrots, chop them, and set aside.

Strain the broth through a sieve into a large bowl and discard the remainder of the vegetables. Allow the broth to cool so the
fat will separate; skim off fat and discard. Measure out 5 cups of the strained broth to use for the sauce.

Potpie Sauce

⅓ cup butter

½ cup flour

5 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. thyme

¾ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. powdered mustard

½ tsp. pepper

½ cup peas, fresh or frozen, thawed

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir constantly until mixture bubbles in pan. Add the chicken broth and whisk constantly until mixture bubbles and thickens. You may need to add a bit more broth if mixture becomes too thick. Stir in the seasonings and then add the chicken, carrots, peas, and parsley. Mix well.

Transfer the chicken and sauce mixture to a greased 13 × 9-inch glass baking dish. Roll out pastry thick (to fit the top of the dish) and place it over the chicken filling. Crimp edges just as you would a pie; slash crust in several places to vent the steam while baking.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Potpies usually have a top crust only. Because this recipe makes a large batch, making enough pastry for a double crust will ensure that there will be enough crust to completely cover the top of the potpie
.

Many Amish families raise hogs for meat and, being frugal, they use just about everything; the saying goes that the only part of the hog that is wasted is the squeal.

Chicken Tetrazzini

1 4-lb. chicken

4 cups broth (reserved from cooking chicken)

8-9 T. flour

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 cups egg noodles, cooked and drained

½ lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 T. butter

4 cups bread crumbs

½ cup cream or milk

Stew chicken in water to cover until meat is thoroughly cooked and tender. Reserve 4 cups broth. Cool chicken enough to handle; skin and debone and cut meat into bite-sized pieces.

Take a small portion of the broth and mix with the flour to make a thin paste. In a large pot, heat the rest of the broth, and when it boils add the flour paste, stirring constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat and add soup. Mix well. Add the cooked noodles, cheese, and chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put in a buttered 9 × 13-inch baking dish.

In a saucepan, melt the butter; add the bread crumbs and brown slightly. Add the cream or milk to the crumb mixture and mix. Put bread crumbs over the top of the chicken and noodles and bake at 325° for 30 minutes.

Creamy Chicken Bake

½ cup flour

¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. paprika

1½ tsp. poultry seasoning

2 T. butter

2 T. oil

8 pieces chicken

2 cups heavy cream

In a large bag, combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and poultry seasoning. In a large saucepan or frying pan, melt together the butter and oil. Shake the chicken pieces in the flour mixture and then brown them on both sides in the butter and oil.

Transfer the chicken pieces to a large baking dish and pour the cream over the chicken. Sprinkle with additional paprika, cover, and bake at 300° for 2 hours. When serving, ladle the pan gravy over the chicken.

Creamy Noodle and Hamburger Casserole

2 cups sour cream

2 cups small-curd cottage cheese

¼ cup onion, chopped

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

1 8-oz. package egg noodles

1 T. oil

2 lb. hamburger

2 6-oz. cans tomato paste

1 T. basil

1 T. oregano

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

In a small mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, cottage cheese, onion, and parsley; set aside.

Cook the noodles per directions on package; drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet and brown hamburger; drain off grease. Add tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.

Grease a rectangular baking dish and layer as follows: meat sauce, noodles, and sour cream mixture. Repeat layers and end with the meat sauce. Bake at 325° for 1 hour. Let stand for 5 or 10 minutes before serving.