Review: Duncan Hines Simple Mornings Blueberry Muffins

So I was wandering around Kroger, trying to find snack foods for DivaMom and I. I've been trying to pick "clean" foods (i.e. no/low preservatives, no HFCS, etc.) and I saw this box for Duncan Hines Simple Mornings Blueberry Muffins :

 

DivaMom likes blueberry muffins, and I like streusel topping, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The instructions were pretty simple. Strain and rinse blueberries. Combine 1/3 cup of veg oil, 2 eggs,  2/3 cup of water and the muffin mix until blended. Fold in blueberries. Spoon into muffin tin, put streusel on top and bake at 400 degrees for 16 mins. 

This mix made 16 medium sized muffins total. I did leave the streusel topping off 7 of them since DivaMom doesn't like it (yeah, she's a little batty), but there was plenty of topping to put on all of the muffins. 

They taste great! They are moist, not grainy like most whole grain stuff is, the topping isn't overly sugary or sweet, but I am disappointed in the quantity of blueberries. They really need more! That's saying something because I'm not much of a blueberry fan. (when I was a kid I had an uncle that had a blueberry farm. We were innundated with blueberries! It took MONTHS of blueberry everything to get rid of the the blueberries he would give us!)

Would I buy this again....I don't know. Maybe if they come out with an "improved" version with more blueberries, or they are on DEEP discount ($1 a box). Otherwise they aren't worth it.

These get a "MEH".

Recipe Review: Sambal Chicken Skewers

So I bought a grill recently. It's a tiny propane camping grill, but it is perfect considering the last two large grills we had died due to the massive wind storms we get here. This one is portable, so I can bring it inside during bad weather.

DivaMom subscribed to Bon Appetit Magazine. I really don't know why since neither of us have much time to cook (hence the lack of posts).  I'm not working much this summer so I have a bit of free time, and decided to try the Sambal Chicken Skewers recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

• 1/3 cup hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)

• 2 teaspoon finely grated peeled ginger

• 1/4 cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)

• 1/4 cup Sriracha

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch–2-inch pieces

Special equipment

• 8 bamboo skewers soaked in water at least 1 hour

Ingredient info

• Hot chili paste is available at Asian markets and many supermarkets.

Preparation

• Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Whisk brown sugar, vinegar, chili paste, fish sauce, Sriracha, and ginger in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Thread 4 or 5 chicken pieces onto each skewer. 

• Transfer marinade to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half (about 1 cup), 7–10 minutes.

• Grill chicken, turning and basting often with reduced marinade, until cooked through, 8–10 minutes.

I made a few changes:

1. I used bonless skinless chicken breast. 
2. The recipe says to use the marinade to create the baste(I know WAY too much about food borne illness to attempt this). I created a seperate batch of marinade to reduce to make the basting sauce . 
3. I used metal skewers instead of bamboo.

Result 

 

Verdict:

YUM!!!! This is slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and completely wonderful! It was pretty easy and quick to make. The most difficult part of this recipe was finding the Chili Paste. I ended up driving all over town looking for it, but couldn't find it near home so I drove about 30 miles to a store that I knew carried it.

I have no idea what sides I'm going to make with this, but this is so yummy it can stand alone! 

(link to the recipe : http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/07/sambal-chicken-skewers)