It sounds like you and I have two Great Minds traveling on the same track. I love Baked Stuffed Potatoes, regardless of what they are stuffed with. For any novices out there, let's talk about the right way to bake 'em first...

Wash potatoes; dry; rub with oil; prick skins three or four times. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, or until done when tested with a fork.

Prepare your filling in a separate bowl.

Cut 1/4-inch slice off top of baked potatoes and scoop out pulp, leaving shells intact about 1/4 inch thick. Mash pulp and add your desired filling.

Beat well and re-stuff potatoes.

If serving potatoes right away, I like to brush them with a little butter and slide them under the broiler for a minute to brown the tops (depending on the filling).

A few more Tips on Baking Potatoes: Never bake a potato in tin foil or in the microwave. When you do either of those things it changes the cooking method from “baking” to steaming and prevents a crisp skin from forming. Bake a clean potato in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour. Poke it with a fork to allow steam to escape, rub with oil, and sprinkle with salt before placing on the oven rack. For the recipes below I did not give measurements as it depends on your liking of the ingredients and the size of the potato. Use you best judgment, but for me, bigger is definitely better, 12oz. - 14oz. at least. Anything less, and you need to cut them up for French Fries.

Here's just a few of the ways I like mine, but feel free to use your imagination...

Chicken & Broccoli Stuffed Potato

Diced cooked chicken

Broccoli pieces ( blanched)

Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Salt

Pepper

Chives

Milk

Butter

Bacon & Swiss Stuffed Potato

Crumbled cooked bacon

Swiss Cheese

Salt

Pepper

Green Onion

Sour Cream

Butter

Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Stuffed Potato

Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

Butter

Nutmeg

Spinach, Mushroom, & Feta Stuffed Potato

Sliced mushrooms

Baby Spinach

Feta Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Salt

Pepper

Basil

Spicy Mexican Suffed Potato

Ground beef/turkey

Salsa

Monterey Jack Cheese

Sour Cream

Salt

Red Pepper Flakes

Dash of Hot sauce

As I said, these are just suggestions, get as wild or as tame as your Taste Buds lead you, and Enjoy!

Have A Blessed & Beautiful Evening My Friends,

Phil

I've got a little something different to share with you all today. I received a request from a New Friend...

Stephanie Young

for the recipe for the Starter for Amish Friendship Bread. Since the entire Recipe would have been too long to send as a PM, I have posted it here for everyone at Papa's Kitchen. If you've never tried it, I know that you enjoy passing it around to Friends. Also, if Stephanie is not on your Friend's list yet, I'm sure that she would appreciate an Invite. Just Click on her Picture above to visit her Profile. After all, this is called "Friendship Bread".

Amish Friendship Bread

This is the Amish Friendship Bread that gets passed around from friend to friend. I've included the recipe for the Amish Friendship Bread starter, and also complete directions for how to make it once your Starter is ready. When you pass the starter on to a friend, make sure that they understand that they will need to follow the instructions beginning with Day 1, then they will use the Amish Friendship Bread Recipe (with the oil, eggs, vanilla, etc.) on Day 10.

Amish Friendship Bread is not just a delicious and sweet bread, it's also a way to bond friends by sharing countless loaves of bread baked in different kitchens that all began from the same bowl of simple ingredients. Choose a few friends and start this wonderful tradition, they'll thank you for it

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

This is the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe that you'll need to make the Amish Friendship Bread (below). It is very important to use plastic or wooden utensils and plastic or glass containers when making this. Do not use metal at all!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110°F)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.
2. In a 2 quart glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.
3. Slowly stir in warm milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Loosely cover the mixture with a lid or plastic wrap. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter.

For the next 10 days handle starter according to the instructions below for Amish Friendship Bread.

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

Day 1 - receive the starter (the recipe for the starter is above)

Day 2 - stir

Day 3 - stir

Day 4 - stir

Day 5 - Add 1 cup each flour, sugar and milk.

Day 6 - stir

Day 7 - stir

Day 8 - stir

Day 9 - stir

Day 10 - Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Divide into 4 containers, with 1 cup each for three of your friends and 1 cup for your own loaves. Give your friends the instructions for Day 1 through Day 10 and the following recipe for baking the bread.

After removing the 3 cups of batter, combine the remaining cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter with the following ingredients in a large bowl:

2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Using a fork beat by hand until well blended. You can add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nuts (optional).

Grease two loaf pans with butter, sprinkle with sugar instead of flour.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (individual oven temperatures vary). Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans. Makes two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread

Hope you all enjoy this, especially as we enter a wonderful "Time of Sharing" over the Holidays.

Have A Blessed & Beautiful Week My Friends,

Phil

Hi Myrna,

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the suggestions. I've never tried the Cherries & Coconut, but it sounds delicious. I did have some once with Pineapple added, and it was great!

That's one of the great things about this Recipe, once you've got the Basics down pat, you can add & subtract various ingredients, and make substitutions, and it's usually still delicious.

This time of year, during the Fall, I become addicted to Pumpkin, so here's one of my favorites...

Pumpkin Spice Amish Friendship Bread

When making the basic recipe, reduce oil to 1/3 cup.

Reduce cinnamon to 1 teaspoon. Use brown sugar instead of white sugar.

Add 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.

Before baking, stir in 1 cup canned pumpkin.

Have A Wonderful Evening My Friend,

Phil

Thank you Phil and what a nice thing to do. I now have a new friend.

I like to eat Friendship Bread, not make it!!

Back later maybe after I have eaten! LOL

Sara