Category Archives: Food

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Juice it up!

**I wanted to get this up quickly for those that were asking me to post about this.  I will add pictures soon.**

 

Several of my friends started juicing and although curious about it, I never really felt like jumping on board.  It seemed tedious and to be honest, I just didn’t know where to start.  I didn’t have a juice extractor so I didn’t really want to make the investment if I wasn’t planning on sticking to it.

I am going to be completely honest in this blog, in hopes that it will help you.  I will share exactly what I did, what I went through, and tips and tricks.  Juicing is not easy.  If you’re planning to do this because you want to lose weight, great!  But if you think this is your easy ticket to weight loss, think again.  It is work, it is hard, and it really takes mental effort to get through a juicing program.  Let me start at the beginning of my journey.

I can’t remember exactly what I was doing, but somehow I heard about the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.  I watched it and was instantly converted.  It wasn’t so much the weight loss part of it, but the health benefits.  I was stunned that this man was able to “cure” his  autoimmune disorder.  I suffer from allergies and they are incredibly annoying.  I wasn’t feeling energetic and youthful and I really wanted to do something about it.  I also wanted to drop the weight, but I wanted to be healthy about it.  Working out and eating well wasn’t giving me what I wanted.  I felt like all my efforts were being wasted on something that wasn’t working for me.  So I decided to do it.

Prepare yourself.

Don’t just dive into this juicing thing.  It really isn’t easy and chances are you will starve and feel so uncomfortable right away that you’ll cheat.  I eased myself into it.  First I had a juice for breakfast and then a light lunch and light dinner.  I had a juice for snack too.  Then I had a juice for breakfast and lunch and had a light dinner.  I did this for almost a week.  Then I stumbled upon the Jason Vale 7 lbs in 7 days app.  It is $6.99 on iTunes and worth every penny.  The app has videos and audio to help you through it, recipes, alerts, and a very helpful shopping list.  I immediately went out and bought everything I needed for the first 3 days.  It’s a lot of produce, so start with a few days.

Dealing with produce.

If you tend to be lazy, this is going to be a challenge.  I started on a Saturday, so Friday night I went shopping.  My first stop was Whole Foods.  For the most part I got organic produce, yogurt, etc.  I also bought my supplements here.  For the other things like banana or apples, I decided to get it from Krogers because I needed 35 apples and I wasn’t going to buy organic apples and be left homeless.  Lucky for me Kroger had a 3 for $0.99 sale on Golden Delicious apples.  The cashier will look at you funny when you buy this many apples.  Mine even said “Man, you guys eat a lot of apples!”  I laughed, but thought to myself, I better stick to these three days or I am going to be eating a lot of apples…

I would clean all the produce right when I got it.  I fill the sink with water and vinegar and soak the fruits and veggies for about 10-20 minutes.  Then I rinse, dry, and put them away.  I tried to display everything in my fridge or countertops.  Produce is so beautiful and when it’s arranged in a beautiful way, not crammed in a drawer or bag.  I was compelled to eat it because it was so pretty!  Some of the things like the carrots I would peel and cut and put in baggies.  Tedious work like that, I got out of the way.  I basically made it so that I could reach in the fridge, grab what I needed, and stick it in the juicer.

Create your routine.

Think about what your routine is.  Don’t let work be an excuse not to do this.  This is where the effort comes in to play.  I have a toddler that demands my attention.  My day is filled with activities, errands, and play time.  I realized my only time to make these juices were in the morning right before my son got up.  The week I started this 7 day plan my son started school, so I had to factor in getting ready, getting him ready, and being done with everything by 8 AM so I could leave to take him to school.  Crazy right?  If I can do it, so can you!  I set my alarm for 6:15 and got ready.  I pulled out what I needed to make my first three juices.  I made them, put them in travel cups, and stuck them in the fridge.  I went about the rest of my routine.  If I was running errands that day, I would take my juices in a lunch cooler and sip all day long.  The app notifies you when it’s time for a juice, basically every three hours, but I just listened to my body.  I didn’t drink every single juice all the time, some of them I skipped because I was still full.  Bottom line, plan out your day.  It gets easier once you get used to your new routine.

What juicer to get.

I started out juicing on a regular centrifugal juicer.  Nothing heavy duty.  But with these juices needing apples, and needing to juice several times a day, I needed something that could take the beating.  I also wanted one that wouldn’t heat up the juice in the process because you lose nutrients that way.  I settled on the Breville Elite.  Amazing machine.  The chute is big enough to put a whole apple in.  This drastically cuts down the prep work.  I am able to just put whole things in, minimal cutting or peeling.  Plus it’s fun.

What it feels like.

The first day I had crazy amounts of energy.  I felt good, I was excited.  Towards the evening I started to feel hungry.  Make sure you have a support system or a way to stay motivated.  Without that it is really easy to cheat.  It is worth it if you stick it out.  My husband is a gem of a man.  He would hug me and tell me he was proud of me, and remind me of my goals.  He wouldn’t ever say no you can’t eat this or that.  He would tell me ‘You could eat that, but what’s the point of all this if you’re going to modify the program?’  And just like that I would find my spirit and keep on juicing.

The second day was HORRIBLE.  I had a migraine, I was nauseous.  It was the worst.  I was at work and had finished two clients when all of a sudden I just couldn’t think past what I was feeling.  This feeling will make you want to quit.  It is one of the worst feelings I’ve experienced.  That feeling is the toxins leaving your body.  Drink water and it will pass.  Again, I ran home to my husband and listened to his words of motivation.  He has been my rock during this.  I wanted to gain control of my body again, I wanted to be healthy, I want to fit back into my bikinis!  He reminded me of the benefits and again I was back at it.

Day 3 is better, but the juices started tasting too sweet.  I added Chat Masala to a few of my juices to make it more palatable.  Chat masala also helps alleviate any gas issues you might have.  Once I hit day four I was on a roll.

I would step on the scale every morning and notice the steady drop.  It lifted me up in the morning.  Knowing that it was working.  I could see my face was different, I felt amazing, and all my clothes were fitting the way they should.  My belly was gone and I was starting to see my abs again.

Here I am on day 7, 15 lbs lighter, and feeling great.  My skin is glowing, and my waist is small again.  I went from looking unhealthy and bloated to looking fit.  It’s not just the weight, you lose the toxins and so your body isn’t inflamed anymore.  My body is now alkaline and functioning at it’s best.  I can’t tell you enough how amazing this feels.  Worth every grueling minute of it.

I plan to continue juicing for parts of my day.  Like a juice for breakfast to start my day, followed by light meals.  Of course, I will indulge every now and then, but plan to detox from time to time just to maintain what I feel now.

So what’s the plan?  How did I do this?  I will list the recipes and what I did for the 7 days, but I urge you to get the app and use it to guide you.  It will put it all right at your fingertips.  Not to mention, some of the audio is exactly what you need to hear at times.  Jason Vale is a great inspiration and his bubbly personality and enthusiastic attitude keep you going when you feel like you can’t.

Good luck if you decide to try this.  It changed my life and I hope it has the same positive effects on yours.  If you have ANY health concerns please PLEASE consult your doctor before starting any juice program.  This is my personal experience and I am a healthy 31 year old with no health concerns.

Day 1:

Waking: Hot water with  kick (lemon, fennel, mint, etc)

8:00 am: Super Juice

11:00 am: Super Juice

2:00 pm: Super Chute Juice

5:00 pm: Turbo Express

8:00 pm: Lemon-Ginger Zinger

9:00 pm: Hot n Spicy

Day 2:

Waking: Hot water with  kick (lemon, fennel, mint, etc)

8:00 am: Super Juice

11:00 am: Super Juice

2:00 pm: Super Chute Juice

5:00 pm: Turbo Express

8:00 pm: Turbo Express

9:00 pm: Hot n Spicy

Day 3:

Waking: Hot water with  kick (lemon, fennel, mint, etc)

8:00 am: Lemon-Ginger Zinger

11:00 am: Super Juice

2:00 pm: Passion 4 Juice Master

5:00 pm: Turbo Express

8:00 pm: Turbo Express

9:00 pm: Hot n Spicy

Day 4:

Waking: Hot water with  kick (lemon, fennel, mint, etc)

8:00 am: Super Juice

11:00 am: Super Juice

2:00 pm: Super Detox Juice

5:00 pm: Turbo Express

8:00 pm: Turbo Express

9:00 pm: Hot n Spicy

Day 5:

Waking: Hot water with  kick (lemon, fennel, mint, etc)

8:00 am: Super Chute Juice

11:00 am: Super Chute Juice

2:00 pm: Super Detox Juice

5:00 pm: Super Juice

8:00 pm: Super Juice

9:00 pm: Hot n Spicy

Day 6:

Waking: Hot water with  kick (lemon, fennel, mint, etc)

8:00 am: Passion 4 Juice Master

11:00 am: Passion 4 Juice Master

2:00 pm: Pure Green Super Juice

5:00 pm: Boost Juice

8:00 pm: Boost Juice

9:00 pm: Hot n Spicy

Day 7:

Waking: Hot water with  kick (lemon, fennel, mint, etc)

8:00 am: Super Juice

11:00 am: Super Juice

2:00 pm: Passion 4 Juice Master

5:00 pm: Sherbet Lemonade

8:00 pm: Boost Juice

9:00 pm: Hot n Spicy

Recipes

Boost Juice

2 Apples

1/2 cup Alfalfa sprouts

1/2 cup Watercress

1/2 cup Parsley

1/2 cup Kale

1/2 cup Broccoli

1/2 Pineapple

1 shot wheatgrass

1/4 cup ice

Drop apple into chute, pack in all the leafy greens, kale, broccoli, and finish with second apple.  The tighter you pack, the more juice you will get from the greens.  Push through pineapple.  Mix in wheatgrass, pour over ice. (Use wheatgrass powder instead of actual wheatgrass.)

Lemon-Ginger Zinger

2 Carrots

2 Apples

1″ Ginger root

1″ Lemon

1/4 cup ice

Juice everything and pour over ice.

Passion 4 Juice Master

1 Apple

1/4 Pineapple

1/4 Banana

3/4 cup Bio-Live Yogurt

1 tsp. Spirulina

Juice apple and pineapple.  Pour juice into blender along with banana, yogurt, and spirulina.  Blend until smooth.

Pure Green Super Juice

2 stalks Celery

1/2 Cucumber

1/2 cup Baby Spinach Leaves

1 shot wheatgrass

1/4 Orange

1/4 cup ice

Juice celery, cucumber, spinach.  Add wheatgrass and pour over ice.  After each mouthful of juice, take a bite of orange. (Don’t chug this juice, it tastes like the butthole of a celery, but take a sip, swish it in your mouth, and then swallow.  This juice is PACKED with nutrients that the enzymes in your mouth break down much better.)

Sherbet Lemonade

2 Apples

1/3 lemon

1/4 cup ice

Put in chute: apple, lemon, apple, like a apple lemon sandwich.  Juice and pour over ice.

Super Chute Juice

2 Apples

1″ Carrot

1/2 Stalk Celery

3/4 cup Mixed Green Leaves

1″ Cucumber

1/2″ Broccoli

1/4 cup Alfalfa sprouts

1/2″ Red Beet

1/2″ Zucchini

1″ Lemon

1/2″ Ginger Root

1/4 Cup ice

Put one apple in the chute, followed by the other ingredients, then the second apple.  Juice and pour over ice.

Super Detox Juice

2 Apples

1/4 Cucumber

1 stalk Celery

1/2 cup Baby Spinach Leaves

1 tsp Superfood (or a bunch of mixed leaves)

1/4 cup ice

Juice everything and pour over ice, unless you use Superfood supplement, blend it with the juice.

Super Juice

2 Apples

1/4 Pineapple

1/4 Cucumber

1/2 Lime

1/4 Avocado

1 shot Wheatgrass

1 tsp Spirulina

1 capsule Friendly Bacteria

1/4 cup ice

Peel the lime, leave the pith on.  Juice apple, pineappe, cucumber, and lime.  Pour juice into blender, scoop in avocado flesh, wheatgrass, spirulina, ice, and powder from friendly bacteria capsule.  Blend until smooth.

Turbo Express

2 Apples

1/2 cup Baby Spinach Leaves

1/2 stalk Celery

1″ Cucumber

1/4 Lime

1/3 Pineapple

1/4 Avocado

1/4 cup ice

Peel the lime, leave the pith on.  Put one apple in the chute.  Tightly pack spinach, celery, cucumber, and lime, and finish with the other apple.  Push through and then juice the pineapple.Scoop avocado flesh into blender with ice, and extracted juice.  Blend until smooth.

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Chicken 65 Recipe

A really long time ago, my parents and I used to go to this South Indian restaurant called Pavani.  It’s since shut down, but I fell in love with a dish called “Ginger Chicken”.  It’s an appetizer that goes well with an ice cold beer.  It was SO good, and I thought I’d never have it again.  Then a place called Biryani Pot opened up in Houston and they had a dish called Chicken 65 that was the same exact thing.  This is a popular South Indian dish that I’m sure you’ll love!

The name is unique and I tracked down the real story behind it.  There was a military canteen in the South of India that served this dish.  The whole menu was in Tamil so the military men who didn’t know the language would order by the number on the menu.  This particular dish was #65, and so it became Chicken 65.

My version of it tastes exactly like the one at the restaurant.  You can imagine my excitement when I took the first bite of this.  It’s such an easy recipe too!

Here’s what you need:Ingredients

Fried Chicken

2 lbs. chicken thigh meat, cubed or in strips.

1 egg

2 Tbsp Corn starch

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

1 medium onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic chopped

2 small green chilies chopped

1/2 cup fresh curry leaves

2 tbsp garlic ginger paste (equal amounts of each, blended to a paste)

1/2 tbsp cumin/coriander powder

1/2 tbsp turmeric

1/2 tbsp red chili powder

2 tbsp Chili Garlic Sauce (Sriracha – in the jar where you can see the seeds)

optional 1/4 tsp red food coloring.

So first you want to prepare the chicken.  I use thigh meat because it’s always juicier and more flavorful.  Beat the egg and pour it over the chicken.  Sprinkle it with the corn starch and salt and pepper.  Mix it until it’s all coated.

Chicken 65

Fry the chicken.  I chose to shallow fry it, but you can deep fry it as well.  Whatever your preference.  Once all the chicken is fully cooked, set it aside.

Chicken 65

Now you want to make the sauce.  Heat up a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil and add in the onion.  Stir in the chopped garlic, green chilies, and curry leaves.  Mix around until the onions have softened and browned.

Chicken 65

Add in the turmeric, red chili powder, and cumin coriander.  Mix well.  Then add in the chili garlic sauce and the garlic ginger paste.  Mix around.  At this point you could add in the red food coloring.  I choose not to.

Chicken 65

Now the sauce is done so add back the chicken and mix until it’s coated well.  If your sauce is too liquidy just cook it down until it’s dry.  Unless you prefer it like that.

Chicken 65

You could top with some cilantro.  I would keep some yogurt nearby, it’s a hot dish!  But SO SO good.

Chicken 65

Let me know how yours turns out!

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Homemade Easy Mac

During my pregnancy, I always strived to eat healthy and drink plenty of water.  It was so important to introduce healthy foods to my growing baby.  I didn’t have any HFCS and tried to stick to fresh foods and stay away from preservatives.

Now that my baby is a big boy, teaching him to eat healthy is priority number one.  We don’t give him excessive sugar.  For his first birthday he got cornbread instead of a cake smash.  We got some heat for not giving him cake for his birthday, but that tradition isn’t really for the child is it?  From the parent’s perspective it’s a cute picture ‘aw look at my baby all covered in icing!  Watch how he rips apart that cake!’  But from the child’s perspective…they are tearing into something very addictive that has drug-like effects on the body.  They have a sugar high and go nuts and then have a pretty severe crash.  It can make them sick or feel icky.  Prolonged high sugar intake leads to an impaired immune system.  So tell me, why would I do that to my child?!

So sugary treats and sodas have no place in my kid’s diet.  Instead I make him fresh home cooked meals that help his growing mind and body.  I’m going to share one easy recipe with you.

Macaroni and Cheese is famous and an American favorite.  I grew up on it and there would be weeks straight where that was all I wanted.  Now as a parent of a child with food allergies I read labels very carefully.  While reading labels and hunting for allergens I also came to realize just how awful some of these favorite foods are.  Mac and Cheese has a ton of “stuff” in it that isn’t good for you.  Why does this food need so many chemicals!  And we all know cheese isn’t neon!

So I decided to make an Easy Mac and Cheese, but sans the preservatives and things I can’t pronounce.

You will need:

 

1/3 C noodles (I used elbow pasta)

1/2 C water

1/4 C milk

Shredded Cheese

Put pasta and water in a cup and microwave 2 minutes at a time until pasta is ‘al dente’.  I went ahead and added the milk because it reduces the boiling point and the pasta cooks faster.  Mine was done in about 5 minutes.  Just make sure you watch it because the mixture will boil over pretty quickly.  Also be sure not to scald the milk.

Easy Mac

Once the pasta is cooked, add in the milk and cheese or if you did it my way, add in the cheese.  I just put a small fist full of shredded cheese.

Easy Mac

Mix and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Easy Mac

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Authentic Indian Curry

My husband and I, on many occasions, have shaken our heads at the “curry” powder they sell at stores. Curry isn’t something that is premixed in a bottle. The beauty of “curry” is that it is customized. It becomes a family legacy. You learn the way your mom makes her curry and try to replicate it and 9 times out of 10 it’s different. That’s because it becomes YOUR curry. Then over the years you perfect your curry, learning from errors to create the perfect curry that your kids come home from college for. And the cycle repeats.

My family was mostly vegetarian, we ate chicken on occasion and by occasion I mean it had to be Christmas, or someone important was coming over. When I got to college, I ate a bit more meat and diversified a little, but I hadn’t really gotten into seafood or anything besides chicken and beef. Still it was American style and mostly bland. I ran home to my mom’s food almost every weekend.

When I met Jayesh, I realized just how much I hadn’t experienced food and it’s complexities. He introduced me to flavors that blew my mind. We both really enjoy eating and cooking, most of all cooking together. Together we have perfected our curry and much like a relationship, it took time, it took work, but we got it right.

On our first date Jayesh cooked for me his famous steak and I was thrilled that his steak recipe would be in my life forever. Sounds silly doesn’t it? Probably because you haven’t tried it. Together we explored the Indian spices, we experimented and tried different things, we had many victories in the kitchen. It’s a delicious love story…we fell in love over curry.

Here is how I make a basic authentic Indian curry. You can add any meat to this and it will alter the flavor slightly with the flavor of the meat. But these are the steps you use before you make any curry dish.

There are no measurements because that’s not how Indians do it. It’s always ‘a little of this’ or ‘a palm full of that’ or better yet ‘just wait for the color to change’. It’s fun.

Here what you will need:

Fresh Ingredients:

Onion – this will make up the bulk of the gravy so do as little or lot as you want.

Tomato – I usually use a can of Hot Rotel, but fresh tomatoes are just fine.

Jalapeno – how hot do you want it? I usually use one whole one, but if you don’t want it too spicy use a half.

Ginger – Use equal amounts as garlic

Garlic – I like a lot of garlic, it tastes good, smells good, and it’s great for you. So probably 3-4 big cloves.

“Curry leaves” aka sweet neem leaves aka ‘limbdo’- one full “branch”. About 20 leaves, 10 if they’re really aromatic. These are optional.

Tomato Paste – for thickness and a bit of tart flavor

Dry Ingredients:

Cumin-Coriander powder

Red Chili Powder

Turmeric

Salt – to taste

Peppercorns – 6-7 for a nice kick

Dried Red Chili – one or two depending on how much heat you want.

Mustard seeds – black ones just a couple of pinches.

Cumin Seeds aka ‘jeeru’ – 4-5 pinches

Cinnamon stick – one broken up

Before I get into this recipe, I made this to slow cook chicken. So it’s concentrated curry. I’ll let you know through out the recipe what changes I made. If you’re slow cooking meat like beef, lamb, goat, chicken, do what I did so that there is enough flavor to get into the meat and enough flavor after the meat releases water. Here we go!

Start prepping by chopping up all the fresh ingredients. I like to make things easier so I use a vidalia chopper but you could course chop the onions in a food processor. They just need to be diced up. I use my magic bullet and make a paste out of the ginger, garlic, and jalapeno. If you’re using fresh tomatoes you can throw those into that ginger garlic paste as well. I like the tomato chunks from the rotel so I just pour the can in to the pan, liquid and all.

Heat up some oil and add in cumin seeds, peppercorn, mustard seeds, cinnamon, dried red chilis, and curry leaves. Add the curry leaves after the other ingredients are mostly fried up. The leaves fry faster and will start to burn.

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The mustard seeds will start to pop so be careful. Once that’s happening add in the onions. Stir the onions frequently, and cook until they are translucent.

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Once the onions are translucent, add in the ginger garlic jalapeno paste and stir. Let it cook for just a minute or two.

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Add in the tomatoes if you’re using canned tomatoes.

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Stir and cook for just a minute or two. Then start to add in your dry spices. The trifecta goes in first. I do about equal amounts of red, yellow, and brown. With perhaps a little less of the yellow because it can add too much bitter. The idea is to round out the flavor so you don’t taste too much of anything. I added heaping spoons to this. HEAPING.

Cumin Coriander Powder

Cumin Coriander Powder

Turmeric Powder

Turmeric Powder

Red Chili Powder

Red Chili Powder

I did about two-ish spoons. The color should turn a golden rust color. Add in some salt to taste. At this point you can add Garam Masala if you want and also ground pepper adds a nice heat. The thing with adding flavors…you want to build. I build layers of heat. So I season the oil, sauté jalapeno, add chili powder, and that creates a different kind of spicy than if you just add chili powder at the end. Its tasty and tolerable.

At this point you might notice the curry looks a bit dry.

I add in Swanson’s chicken broth. You could use vegetable broth if you’re vegetarian. It’s better than water which will completely dilute your flavor. I use the low sodium broth so it doesn’t throw off my salt proportions. If you’re slow cooking with this, you want to add a bit more salt than necessary. As you’re tasting it, if it seems like something is missing or it seems kind of bland, try adding a bit of salt. It really opens up the other flavors. Something else I do is add sugar to round out the flavor. It shouldn’t taste sweet though, just enhance.

After broth add in about a tablespoon or so of tomato paste. This will thicken up the gravy and add a tangy flavor. Don’t add too much. Just little by little until the consistency is right. This is the consistency you need if you’re slow cooking:

 

If you’re planning to finish up on the stove go ahead and add the meat in and watch the consistency. The meat will release water so in the end if it’s too watery just simmer until the water cooks off.

The longer you simmer curry the better the flavors get. So if you’re using seafood that cooks pretty fast, let your curry simmer for a while before adding in fish or shrimp.

If you’re using a tough meat like lamb or goat, use a pressure cooker or slow cooker to get the meat tender. I do this with chicken sometimes, but mostly we do chicken on the stovetop.

If you want the meat to be tasty, do not cook it before you add it to the curry.

I didn’t get a picture of the end result, but I used about 3-ish pounds of boneless skinless thigh and it was AMAZING.

Like I said at the start, curry is customized for you. So you can follow my recipe and make modifications. Maybe you don’t like it too spicy, maybe you don’t like the mustardy heat. Just change up the proportions and make your own. Let me know if you have questions!

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Easy Peasy Apple Cake!

Not really sure why this post took me a million years to post.  Perhaps my time management skills have taken a vacation as of late.  This is the easiest recipe in my book.  Seriously, you could pay your kid to make it.  So easy.

Here’s what you need:

A couple of apples sliced into thinnish slices.  Enough to cover the bottom of a 9×13 pan.

stick of butter

box of ready made cake mix like Pilsbury, Duncan Hines, or Betty Crocker – vanilla type flavors work best or anything that goes well with apples.

Lay out the apples in the pan

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Cover with dry cake mix

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Pour melted butter over the top

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Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees

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You won’t believe how incredible this tastes!  It’s great with a scoop of ice cream!  A little tip, check on it while it’s baking, if you see any dry spots just add a little water to that spot.  The moisture from the apples should come through most of it, but sometimes you get a few dry spots.

Let me know what you think!

Come holiday time you can mix together angel food cake mix and apple pie filling from the can, bake for 30 minutes or so at 350 degrees or until the top is brown.