MAKE YOUR OWN SHAKE AND BAKE CHICKEN

From the Rolling Hills of Holmes County - Down Home Cookin' by Abe & Edna Miller is on the four "new" Amish cookbook I bought a few weeks ago at an estate sale. This recipe for Make Your Own Shake and Bake (Chicken) is the first one I have tried in it. I have seen recipes in other Amish cookbooks for a make your own shake and bake, but I didn't take the time to check out my other ones to find the recipes and compare. 

I have so many Amish cookbooks and so many of them have the same or very similar recipes. Some of them have recipes I find in cookbooks that are not Amish. I recently found a recipe that was the same as one of my mother's recipes. Many are what I call incomplete recipes because they don't include thorough details about cooking. I have enough of those from my mother....

Anyway, I tried this one and couldn't believe what a "picture perfect" entree it made. My husband couldn't keep talking about how good it was. He even started his....you could make this for.... That's when I know he really likes whatever I have made.

MAKE YOUR OWN SHAKE AND BAKE CHICKEN

1       cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
a bit of pepper
1/2   teaspoon salt
2      teaspoons paprika
1       teaspoon baking powder
1       stick butter (I used unsalted, sweet butter)
chicken breasts, chicken strips, or chicken pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the stick of butter in baking pan. (I used a glass 8 x 11 - inch baking dish for 1 large chicken breast that I cut into strips.)

Combine the flour, pepper, salt, paprika, and baking powder in a bowl with a whisk.

Place flour mixture in plastic bag and

place one piece of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to cover. (I only put about half of the mixture in the bag. I threw out the bag and what was left in it at the end and placed the other half in the bowl in a bag to keep for another time.)

Place chicken in the pan, not crowding.

Bake until done. I baked the large chicken breast for 45 minutes. If you are using more chicken or chicken pieces, you may need to bake for 1-1/2 hours.

Here is a picture of the cookbook.

Update: We are currently vacationing in Bella Vista, AR. I brought frozen chicken with us and the other half of the breading mix with us to bake one night for dinner. I made it tonight. I couldn't get all of the chicken in the dish so I ended up just frying it. I dropped the pieces in the bag and then cooked them in oil in a skillet frying them until done. (As a side got browned, I turned it over or on its side until I had browned the chicken piece completely.) Even though it was fried (we try to avoid fried foods as much as we can), he really liked it. He said the chicken was more moist. I told him 45 minutes baked in the oven might be a little too long for the chicken pieces. 

I told him not to forget to leave a generous tip for the cook. He laughed. When I was finished cleaning up the dishes and turned around and looked at the table to wipe it off, this is what I saw. I laughed.