The yummiest, easiest funnel cake recipe

After maybe 30 minutes of searching for the best fried dough or funnel cake recipe i finally found the easiest one that also tastes good. 

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• oil for deep frying
• sifted confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

Beat eggs with milk. Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder; add to eggs and milk. Beat until very smooth. Heat oil in deep fryer to 370°. Holding the funnel with one finger keeping the opening closed, fill with batter.
Open the end of the funnel and allow batter to run out in a stream into deep hot fat. Move funnel from center, swirling outward in a circular pattern. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer fried funnel cakes to paper towels to drain. Shake sifted confectioners' sugar over drained funnel cakes.
Makes 20 to 30 funnel cakes, depending on size.

source

Amish Friendship Bread (UPDATE)

So my ten days are up and this is how my friendship bread came out. So yummy!! I (forcefully) passed along 2 bags and saved one for myself so i can make it again in 10 days.

Head Start and the benefits of Preschool

Today was my daughters last day of her second year of preschool so i thought i would reflect on the positive impact it has had, not only on her, but the rest of my family as well. Head Start isnt just a preschool. Each family is assigned a Family Service Coordinator who has regular in-home meetings to discuss goals and successes. They are there to help, even if its just an understanding and compassionate shoulder to cry on. This was a very difficult year for me with the new baby, loss of my job and loss of my boyfriend as well. I was in a very dark place at the beginning of the school year and i am so great full to of had such an amazing coordinator to help me through it all.

The benefits that my daughter has received this year have been amazing. Not only does school give her time out of the house, but she gets the chance to meet new friends out of our normal family social circle. It also prepares her for the social settings for kindergarten and up. In her 2 years of school she has learned the entire alphabet, numbers up to 100, all colors and shapes, How to read, spell and write her name, how to wait her turn in circle time, how to make up stories and the list goes on and on. Teaching her all these skills at home would have taken a much, much longer time. Kacie thrives in a classroom setting and im so happy she has these services available to her.

I was outraged when Newton Mayor Setti Warren mentioned that Senator Scott Brown voted in support for a bill that would have eliminated Head Start services for more than 3,000 Massachusetts children.

This program needs to remain in place because all children deserve a head start on their education regardless of their family's income.
Research on the benefits of Head Start
Head Start main website

My Precious Children

Amish Friendship Bread

Yesterday my mother called me from work to ask if i wanted a bag full of batter to make 'Amish Friendship Bread' that a co-worker had brought in for her. She told me she got to try a piece and that it was DELICIOUS but she wanted me to take care of it. One you get a bag passed along to you it takes 10 days to prepare before baking. Once those 10 days are up you scoop out 2 or 3 cups to pass along to your friends so they can continue the process. Today is day 6 for my batter. I googled the recipe starter for any of you who would like to start a batch yourself.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

It is very important to use plastic or wooden utensils and plastic or glass containers when making this---no metal.
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  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 the dissolved yeast mixture.  Cover the mixture loosely 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. I would put this mixture in a ziploc bag so I could continue on with the recipe.
For the next 10 days use the starter according to the instructions.

Allrecipes has another Amish Friendship Bread Starter recipe with tips about freezing the starter.

Once you have a starter batch here are the 10 day instructions.

*note*
Do not use any type of metal spoons or bowl for mixing. Do not refrigerate. If air gets into the bag, let it out.
It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, and ferment.

Day 1: Do nothing. This is the date on which you receive the bag. Squish-squash-mush the bag.
Day 2: Squish-squash-mush the bag
Day 3: Squish-squash-mush the bag
Day 4: Squish-squash-mush the bag
Day 5: Squish-squash-mush the bag
Day 6: Add to the bag 1 C. flour, 1 C. sugar, 1 C. milk. Squish-squash-mush the bag.
Day 7: Squish-squash-mush the bag
Day 8: Squish-squash-mush the bag
Day 9: Squish-squash-mush the bag
Day 10: BAKING DAY! Mix and divide the starter as follows:
Pour entire contents of bag into large non-metal bowl and add: 1½ cup flour, 1½ cup sugar, 1½ cup milk.
Measure out 4 separate batches of the starter batter, 1 cup each, into 4 separate Ziplock bags (one gallon
size). Keep one for yourself and give the other 3 to friends along with a copy of this recipe/instructions.
Pre-heat oven to 325°. To the remaining batter in the bowl, add:
3 eggs
1 cup Canola oil
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
Grease or butter 2 large loaf pans and mix an additional ½ cup sugar and 1½ tsp cinnamon. Dust the
greased pans with half the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Pour batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle the top
with remaining sugar mixture.
Bake for 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from sides of pan and turn out to serving dish.
If bag isn't passed on to a friend on the 10th day, be certain to tell recipient which day the bag is at when
given to them. If you keep a starter bag for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days.