5 Amish Recipes, Instructions Only: Chilly Day Stew, Mrs. Miller's Homemade Potato Bread and More.. (2024)

By Kevin Williams

Often Amish cooks give me recipes that are only sets of instructions, really. I don't often post them because people are so conditioned to wanting the list of ingredients, followed by instructions that it's just inconvenient to run them this way. Other times I'll take the time to break-out ingredients from the instructions and post them as a traditional recipe. But I thought it'd be fun today to share with you 5 recipes written in old-time style.

See this roast chicken recipe?

It was written by an Amish man in Kentucky who set me the recipes. Okay, I know some of you will want the recipe that is on that paper, here it is.

I actually like these types of recipes the best because they strike me as the most authentic, an Amish cook in their kitchen someplace scrawling the instructions for an age-old family favorite. Some of the instructions are funny ("a nice fat carrot"), others will take a little deciphering....I had never heard "penick syrup" before...anyway here are five more such wonderful recipes...

AMISH CHILLY DAY STEW

Into a kettle of rapidly boiling water, chop 1 nice fat carrot. While it is cooking, clean and chop 4 large onions. Add them to the stew kettle. Prepare 1 quart of potatoes, peeled and diced, add to the mixture. Over the potatoes sprinkle 2 tablespoons of rice and 2 tablespoons broken macaroni, 1 teaspoon salt, and add water to cover. Let cook slowly till tender. When ready to serve, add 1 pint good, rich cream or substitute butter and milk. Let mix through but do not boil again. Serve with croutons, crackers, or hot toast.

MRS. ALVIN YODER'S BARBECUE SANDWICHES

2 fairly sized onions, cut fine. Fry in small amount of butter or lard in frying pan, till browned. Add crumbled hamburger (2 pounds raw). Let fry till the juice disappears. Add enough tomato juice to almost cover the meat. Let cook for awhile. Add 1 /2 cup sugar (more if desired) and 1 teaspoon mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cook till it charges to a darker color or until the meat is well done. Serve while hot. Make this in a common sized frying pan. Delicious on bread.

MRS. MILLER'S HOMEMADE POTATO BREAD

Peel, dice, and cook a small potato in 1 cup water. When well done, take a large bowl and put into it 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon (or small handful) salt, 1 tablespoon shortening, pour hot potato water over all this, mash potato real fine and add, mix real well with potato masher, add 3 cups lukewarm water and 2 cups flour, mix well, then add 2 tablespoons yeast and 2 cups flour and mix real well. Cover and let set in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes. Then knead with greased hands, adding just enough flour to make a very soft dough. Grease pan and dough lightly, cover and let set in aw arm place, punch down twice at 1 hour intervals, form into leaves (4 large or 6 small) let rise till pans feel light weight when you pick them up or able double in size. Bake in 325 oven, 15 - 20 minutes then increase to 400 until nice and brown. Remove from pans, when almost cooled put into plastic bags and seal.

GRAHAM CRACKER FLUFF

Soak 1 package unflavored gelatin in 1 /3 cup cold water. Mix in top of double boiled: 1 /2 cup sugar, 3 /4 cup rich milk, and 2 egg yolks. Boil 1 minute. Add gelatin mixture and mix. Set in cool place. When pudding has set, add 2 stiff beaten egg whites. 1 cup cream, whipped. 1 teaspoon vanilla and a pinch of salt. Line the bottom of a dish with mixture of 12 - 16 graham crackers, crushed, 3 tablespoons melted butter, saving 1 /3 of crumbs for top. Pour pudding over crumbs and sprinkle remaining crumbs over top. Chill in ice house until ready to serve.

PRINCE OF WALES CAKE

1 cup sugar, 1 /2 cup lard, 1 egg, cream altogether. Add ½ cup maple or pennick syrup and 1 teaspoon soda dissolve in 1 cup sour milk and 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon each of cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix well ad bake in loaf pan in medium oven.

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