Homemade Brownie Mix

 

This is from I Am Baker. Double for a 9 x 13. Will make a dozen if you bake them in muffin tins. These are very chocolatey (plus we added 1/2 C dark chocolate chips into the mix). I gave one to Eli to take to school. Decrease cocoa if desired.

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• ½ cup (64 g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

Wet Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, melted, then cooled
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8x8-inch pan with non-stick spray.
• Sift (or whisk) together granulated sugar, cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.
• Melt butter and set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, beat two eggs and vanilla extract with a hand-held mixer.
• Add the egg mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes.

Notes

HOW TO GIFT BROWNIE MIX

Sift together all dry ingredients. Place into a jar or airtight container.On a gift tag or label write the wet ingredients and quantities and then directions. "Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, beat two eggs with the vanilla. Add in and gently stir dry ingredients. Pour the melted butter into brownie mixture and mix until just incorporated. Spread batter in a prepared 8-inch square pan and bake for 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees."

Easy Homemade Pancake Mix Made from Scratch

From The Recipe Critic https://share.google/stGcrjiyxQqTn35tN. I sent some of this to Sarah on her mission in Nauvoo, and it's so easy I wanted to save it.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• In a large bowl, add 3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons baking powder, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Whisk the pancake mix ingredients together until combined. Store in a sealed container and keep in a dry cool place.

Notes

How to Use the Mix to Make Pancakes

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine ¾ [a little less] cup of milk, 1 egg, and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add 1 cup of pancake mix and stir until combined.
2. Drop ¼ cup of the pancake mixture onto a heated, buttered skillet on medium heat. Cook until golden brown on both sides and enjoy!

 

How to Use the Mix to Make Waffles

1. In a bowl, mix ¾ cup milk, 1 egg, and 3 tbsp oil. Add 1 cup pancake mix and stir. The extra oil creates a crispier texture.
2. Pour batter onto a heated, buttered waffle iron and follow its instructions. Adjust batter based on waffle iron size.

Baked Oatmeal

 This is originally from Fit Foodie Finds under the name Dark Chocolate Berry Baked Oatmeal, and I love it. I put in less fruit and less chocolate than the original recipe, and a couple other potential changes.

Wet Ingredients

• 1 medium ripe banana, smashed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup maple syrup*
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Dry

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour any kind of flour will work*
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 C frozen berries
• a couple tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips
• pinch of salt (opt)

Optional: Drizzle almond butter on top before baking

*It would also work to substitute at least some of the flour with vanilla protein powder, then you would cut down on your flour and your maple syrup. 

Combine the wet ingredients, combine the dry ingredients, mix the wet and dry together. Spread into a small casserole dish (7x10 - serves 6), bake 350 for 30 minutes. Doubling this will fit into a 9x13.

Greek Burritos

 We tried this when we were doing e-meals and really liked it!

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1½ cups roasted red pepper hummus
• 6 burrito size flour tortillas
• 1 (5-oz) pkg baby spinach
• 1 English cucumber, chopped
• 1 (6-oz) pkg crumbled feta cheese
• ¾ cup chopped kalamata olives

Instructions

1. Cook tomatoes and onion in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until tender.
2. Spread hummus on tortillas; top with spinach, cucumber, tomato mixture, cheese, and olives. Fold in sides of tortillas; roll up to completely enclose filling.

Peanut-Coconut Quinoa

 I originally got this on Chow, maybe as far back as 2012. I'm not even going to post a picture because it looks so gross, but it tastes so yummy. The original recipe calls for tofu, but we just leave that out. Here is the simplified version I like to make.

Cook Quinoa:

2 C quinoa

1 - 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/3 chicken broth

1 t salt

8 oz chopped carrots

1 lb. chopped broccoli

Bring all but the vegetables to a boil for around 15-20 minutes. Cook the broccoli and carrots separately until crisp-tender then add to the quinoa (OR, you can also just add them raw into the quinoa mixture while it's cooking so they will cook too---this may cause the quinoa to take a little longer to cook, though).

Sauce:

1 2/3 C cilantro (around 1/2 bunch)

1/2 C natural, chunky peanut butter

1/4 - 1/3 C Sriracha sauce

2 T lime zest (from 3 limes)

1/4 fresh lime juice (from 3 limes)

1/4 C sesame oil

1 T brown sugar or honey (opt)

2 garlic cloves

3/4 t salt

Blend the above ingredients together.

Pour the sauce over the hot quinoa and vegetables and serve with fresh cilantro, peanuts, and green onions, if desired. 

Lebanese Lemon Garlic Chicken

I found this recipe online, but can't remember from where! It's so flavorful! When I make this for our family I should probably double it.

2 lbs chicken (2 chicken breasts?)**

1/4 C fresh lemon juice (approx 2 lemons, but you could use bottled)

6 minced garlic cloves

3 T olive oil

1 t ground cumin

1 t ground coriander

1/2 t paprika

1/2 t ground turmeric (opt)

Salt and pepper to taste (1/2 t each?)

2 T chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

Lemon slices (for baking or serving)

Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken to the bowl and coat well. Cover and let marinate for 30 min to 4 hours. Place chicken in a single layer in a baking dish or sheet pan. Add lemon on top if desired. Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes until skin is golden and crispy. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve. 

You can also cook this on the stove top in a pan until cooked through. You could probably cook it in a crock pot, too... maybe 4 hours on low or 6-8 hours or so on high?

We served this with rice, but you could also serve with couscous or a salad.

**I put 3 frozen chicken breasts in a sprayed glass 9x13 and poured the sauce on top (didn't marinate) and baked the whole thing at 400 for about an hour. The chicken was perfect!

Mediterranean Recipes

 We've really been enjoying some Mediterranean Recipes lately. In fact, I wrote one on a card twice! haha.

GREEK CHICKEN MEATBALLS

1 lb ground chicken (or turkey)

1/4 C breadcrumbs (opt)

1/4 C parmesan

1/4 C chopped parsley

1 clove garlic

1 egg

1 t oregano

Salt and pepper

Combine above ingredients into balls. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes

And, if you want to add Tzatziki sauce, here's a good recipe. We just don't usually eat much of it.

1 C Greek  yogurt

1/2 grated cucumber

1 clove garlic

1 T olive oil

1 t lemon juice

Salt to taste

GREEK CHICKEN BOWLS from All Nutritious.com: serve with basmati rice, salad, and tzatziki sauce (Serves 4)

2 lb cubed chicken

1/4 C olive oil

1/3 C Greek yogurt

1 lemon, juiced

1 T red wine vinegar

8 cloves garlic

1 T oregano

Salt and Pepper

Marinate chicken in other ingredients, 20 min to 12 hours. Cook in a skillet 7-9 minutes.

Serve with SALAD:

2 Cucumbers, chopped

1 lb. cherry tomatoes

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 lemon, squeezed

2 T olive oil

1 T red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves

1/2 t oregano

TZATZIKI SAUCE

1/2 C Greek yogurt

1/2 English cucumber, diced

2 cloves garlic

1 T fresh dill

1 t lemon juice

1 t chopped mint

Salt & pepper

PITA BREAD (so good!) - makes 10

3 1/4 C flour

1 1/2 C warm water

1 T yeast

1 t salt

1 T olive oil

Combine yeast and water. Add other ingredients to make dough. Divide into ten balls, rise one hour, let rest. Roll flat. Bake in a skillet like a pancake.

JENNIFER ANISTON SALAD - Serves 6

We've tried several versions of this salad, but this one is my favorite. It's fun to make it as a salad in a jar (makes 6 of them). Just put the heavier ingredients and liquids on the bottom.

1 C uncooked quinoa, cooked with 2 C water*

1 C chopped cucumber

1/2 C chopped parsley

1/2 C mint

1/3 C chopped red onion

1/2 C pistachios

1 can chickpeas

Feta

Dressing**: Combine 2 juiced lemons with 1/4 C olive oil, salt, pepper

Fresh dill, chicken, avocado, dijon mustard (optional)

*Toasted Quinoa Option: Take 1 C cooked quinoa combined with 1 T olive oil and 1/2 t salt and bake at 375 for 20 min stirring half way (Kale Junkie).

**Tahini Balsamic Dressing option - 1/2 C olive oil with 1/4 C tahini, 3 T Balsamic vinegar, 1/4 C lemon juice, 2 T maple syrup, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper

GREEK SHEET PAN CHICKEN - Serves 6 (Downshiftology) So much flavor!

• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 lemon juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
• 1 medium zucchini halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper chopped into 1-inch pieces
• ½ large red onion thinly sliced into wedges
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• ½ cup kalamata olives pitted
• ¼ cup feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

• Make the marinade. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, thyme, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.***
• Marinate the chicken. Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and pour ⅔ of the marinade on top, then use your hands to toss the chicken in the marinade and make sure it's well coated. Marinate the chicken for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Prep the vegetables. While the chicken is marinating, spread the zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, and tomatoes onto the baking sheet and drizzle the remaining marinade on top. Toss together to coat the vegetables.
• Bake. Add the chicken thighs the baking sheet, nestling them around the veggies, and bake for 30 minutes.
• Add the final touches. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, add the olives and feta and then place it back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened and the chicken is cooked through to 165°F.
• Sprinkle the chicken and vegetables with chopped fresh parsley before serving.

***I just spread these on top of the chicken and let it sit in the fridge during the day until I baked it in the oven.