DIY Duncan Hines

Brownies are a HUGE Lewis  family favorite!  Nathan (my youngest son) is actually a professional brownie chef.  He has allowed us to share his secret ingredient as well; he always adds a couple hand fulls of chocolate chips (his hands are small as he is only 3). What is so great about this DIY Duncan Hines brownie mix is that is is almost as easy to make up as walking down the aisle and buying the actual box of brownie mix. And when you are ready to make them, well it is just as easy as the directions on the real Duncan Hines box. But most importantly, here is what our DIY mix DOES NOT contain...

Corn syrup

Soy bean oil

Cornstarch

Carob powder

Artificial flavor

Here are the ingredients for the mix:

• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

You can just put in a ziploc bag, but it also makes a great decorative item or gift when stores in a mason jar. We even created a free printable gift tag for you to tie around the jar.

To print the gift tag, right click the image above and save as a picture. Depending on your printer, chose the paper or print option to print it as a 3.5 x 5 print and make sure the "fit to frame" box is NOT checked.

Then, when you're ready to bake, just mix the dry mix with the following:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon of milk

Place in a greased baking pan and cook at 350° for 20-25 minutes (directions are also on the tag).

DIY Gluten-free Duncan Hines

Don't worry- we have a gluten free version of our DIY Duncan Hines! Why buy a boxed variety of gluten-free brownie mix when you probably already have everything in your pantry to make your own. You can put all of the dry ingredients in a bag or in a jar and keep in your pantry for when you want some of those deliciously sweet morsels. Or print our free printable gift tag below and tie it around a mason jar with the mix and give it as a gift. Trust me, people who eat gluten free will LOVE this brownie mix as a gift. 

Ingredients (for the jar):

• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (ensure they are gluten free brand)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

When you are ready to make the brownies, just mix the dry mix with 2 eggs, 1/3 cup oil, 1 Tbsp. milk and 1 Tbsp. vanilla. The directions are also on the gift tag.

To print the gift tag, right click the image above and save as a picture. Depending on your printer, chose the paper or print option to print it as a 3.5 x 5 print and make sure the "fit to frame" box is NOT checked.

Appetizing April Menu- 30 Days of Dinner Ideas

Last month's Magical Moms March Menu Madness was a hit with our families, how about yours?  This month's menu features several new recipes as well as some of our classics.  When you try one of our recipes, we would LOVE to hear what you think so please come back and leave us a comment!

Monthly Menu Template Download- this will take you to Google Drive, and from there you just click the arrow at the top left and open as a Word document, then save to your computer.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
	1 Sausage and Pepper Pasta	2 Herb Butter Steakhouse Steak, Lawry's Potato Squares, Sauteed Mushrooms	3 Sausage, Beans, and Rice (gluten free)	4  Simply Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff	5 Jamaican Me Hungry Jerk Chicken, Better than Rice-a-Roni, Corn on the Cob	6 Meatball Subs, Caesar Salad
7 Spicy Bacon Carbonara, The Bread	8  Grilled Bourbon Pork Medallions, Rosemary Chive Grilled Potatoes, Green Waldorf Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing	9 Tracy's Taco Pie, Tufano Salsa Dip	10 Loaded Potato Soup Parmesan Pretzel Bites	11 Best Darn Pork BBQ, coleslaw	12 Whiskey Steak, Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes, Oven Roasted Asparagus	13 Pizza Rolls- All Grown Up
14 Dorito Taco Casserole	15 Chicken Parmesan One for Tonight & One for the Freezer, Spaghetti	16 Apple of My Eye Chicken Thigh, Hodge Podge Rice	17 Creamy Mushroom Angel Pasta, Spinach Salad	18 Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Zucchini	19 Slow Cooker 8 Spice Lemon Chicken, Mac and Cheese	20 Creamy Garlic Ranch Pork Chops, Garlic Mashed Potatoes
21 Southwest Pasta Bake	22 Grilled Chicken, BLT Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing	23 Lazy Lasagna (from freezer), cucumber salad	24 Mouth Watering Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots	25 Cha Cha Chicken with Mango Tango Salsa	26 Fancy Grilled Ham and Cheese (or as some call it Croque Monsier), chicken noodle soup	27 Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
28 Ritzy Buffalo Mac and Cheese, carrots, celery, & blue cheese	29 Keep It Covered Chicken and Rice, Steamed Brocoli	30 Salsa Chicken

Hodge Podge Rice

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup each, diced onion, celery and carrot
• 2 cups brown basmati rice
• 3 Tbsp butter or olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 3 cups water
• Pinch turmeric
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp. ground coriander

Sauté the rice in the oil or butter. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic then continue to sauté until onions are opaque. Add the water and peas, bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and fluff with a fork.

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu. Check out the entire April menu for a variety of dinner ideas!

Apple of My Eye Chicken Thigh

This is such a great recipe. If you like BBQ, then you'll really enjoy the sweetness the apple butter brings to this chicken dish. And the chicken thighs are so moist and tender, they practically fall apart.

Ingredients:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• 3/4 cup apple butter
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper
• Fresh herbs-rosemary, sage, parsley

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine the apple butter and vinegar in a bowl. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs. Coat the chicken thighs in the apple butter mixture. Cook in oven for about 40 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Sprinkle fresh herbs before serving.

This recipe was featured on our April Menu.

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu. Check out the entire April menu for a variety of dinner ideas!

Mediterranean Chicken Kabob Platter

This is a great healthy chicken recipe when you're looking for variety. As far as timing goes, I start soaking the rice first, then make the aioli and chicken marinade. I prepare the chicken kabobs and let sit in the fridge to marinate, and just chill the aioli. Then I start the rice and after rice has started to simmer, I start the chicken.

Mediterranean Rice Pilaf Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. butter
•  About 20 pieces of Spaghetti, broken into small pieces
•  2 cups Basmati rice
• 3 cups water (plus more for soaking rice)
•  Salt
•  2 Tbsp. toasted almonds
• Dash of cinnamon

Start of by washing your rice. If you don’t do this, you will get a very sticky rice. Place rice in a bowl of cold water and stir. Drain and continue to rinse with cold water. 

Refill the bowl with cold water and soak your rice for 15-30 minutes. In a large pan, melt butter and sauté the broken pieces of spaghetti until golden brown. Add the water and rice and cover with lid. Bring to a boil and stir once. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes (do not open lid again). Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and add salt, cinnamon and almonds.

Chicken Ingredients:

• 4 large skinless chicken breasts
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp coriander
• 3/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of cayenne
• Salt and black pepper

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. 

Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together to form a paste. 

Toss chicken in the paste and marinade for at least 30 minutes. 

Place the chicken pieces on metal skewers and grill until chicken is 165 degrees. While the chicken is grilling, heat an empty large pot with lid on the stove. When you remove the chicken from the grill, place the skewers in the pot (removed from heat) and put on the lid. Leave the skewers in the pot for about 5 minutes. The steam that it creates makes the chicken super moist and perfect.

Garlic Aoili Sauce Recipe Ingredients

½ Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

      Dash lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, pressed with garlic press or crushed with mortar and pestle
½ tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

In a medium bowl whisk together all ingredients. Chill until ready to serve with chicken kabobs.

I also served this with Henderson Hummus.

Henderson Hummus

Who would have known that such a delicious dip was so good for you? I only discovered hummus and it's deliciousness a few years ago, to be honest. And like anything I try in a restaurant or "store-bought," I of course went home and tried to make my own, better version of it. I have tried several different recipes and have taken bits and pieces from my favorites to come up with what I call Henderson Hummus.

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup tahini sauce
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup good olive oil (I like to use some that my mother-in-law bought for me in Italy)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup vegetable of your choice- cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrot, etc. I used cucumber today.
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• dashes of salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp. pickle or olive juice
• You can also add toasted pine nuts, minced garlic, tomatoes or cilantro as a garnish.

Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. I like to chill mine for a few minutes, then serve with pita chips.

This recipe was served with our Mediterranean Chicken Kabob Platter.