We bought apple cider for a slab of meat on the fourth and we had loads of it left. So I went on a hunt to find apple cider recipes. And found…
Baked not fried…all thanks to stressbaking.com
The first picture is the start. I measured out 1 1/2 cups of cider and had to cook it down until there was only 1/2 cup remaining.
My cider!!The dough…
The dough looks way better than when I tried to make churros…I’ll have to try that recipe again…
Fill the zippy…
Well my first mistake…I used one of our cheaper ziplock bags thinking I was being thrifty. But instead figured out too late that the bottom edge is not to a single point but to two…so when I cut the hole I made two smaller holes…😑
My…muffin pan…?
I don’t have a muffin pan. So I made one!! Mwhahahaha! I used tin foil and made the holes for the donuts. We shall see of it works…
Well…
It works…I think…
No! Be positive and confident!! It will work!!!
Did not fill the entire pan. So instead I pour a small amount of water into the extra spots. You are probably asking why…?
Well Eli put this hat on me when I was making dinner…and I am still wearing it!! I am the coolest mama ever!
Not too bad!
The hubby couldn’t take it any longer and came to see what the delicious smell was…he helped me take all the foil inserts out.
Yum!
The holes did not go through on each donut, but in a pinch the foil inserts did work!
Topping…
Butter and a sugar cinnamon combination. What could be better?
If you can see a few are already missing…
Well another recipe finished!!
Look like photo: 10! Even without the muffin pan they look similar!
Taste: 9.9! Wow! They were so delicious and worth the wait!! I think I had two, Eli had two, but I have no idea how many the hubby had… I gave it a 9.9 because I think next time I am going to make a glaze frosting. I think it will go better with the texture of the muffin.
Easiness: hmm….maybe an 9! The longest part was waiting for the reduction of the cider…the recipe said it would take 30min, but for me it was closer to an hour.
Well hopefully this has helped you find another recipe to try!! It was so delicious! The recipe says they will last up to three days….I don’t think there will be any left by then…haha!
Bedtime!Eli is finally asleep and in her own bed ❤️Now mama’s turn…😪“No…no…!”Eli!!Just a dream…sleep…“Stop…stop!”“Eli…”😢“Think of something happy…”Snuggles…🥰
Right when I needed something happy she woke up, crawled into bed with me, and gave me a hug. 🥺 My little sweet sweet taking care of mama even while sleeping.
I can’t even recall what the nightmares were, but they were enough for me to almost decide to get up at 3:30am…
My sweet baby girl 💕
Give a hug to your sweet thing; whomever it may be! 🥰
“I really want some spicy fried chicken!! But I’ll wait for when we go pick up my parents.”
“So any idea?”
“Something spicy!”
So if you can tell by that statement…I choose a spicy recipe!
Spicy Mongolian Beef
The picture looks delicious! But I wonder how spicy is spicy….
Well…
I didn’t realize I was “doing a new recipe” until I was beginning the frying of the beef…so I have no photos of the process beforehand.
To sum it up: I used round steak; because that’s what I had. I thawed and sliced it in strips along the grain. I marinated it in 1 TBsp of soy sauce for 10-ish min. I then added and coated the meat with 6 TBsp of flour. It called for cornstarch, but I never have cornstarch. Then I prepared the pan for frying.
I already did the first round of meat!
I will say. I know understand why you use a wok. It’s tall, deep, and the oil that explodes won’t burn you. I got burned. Not bad, but wow did it make a mess. This was my solution…
It worked. But man did it hurt when the oil got me…!
I was pretty proud of myself coming up with this idea on the spot. I only had about 30sec to think of something. Since the meat was already cooking.
I stopped mid way to take a picture. This round I cooked less time.
With the guard, mitt, and tongs, I probably looked like I was battling the stove.
But I won in the end! 😎 Yum!
Round steak is quite tough but it looks like it cooked correctly. We will have to see when we eat it. Soy sauce and flour made a thick goop that covered the meat before I cooked it. It really does look like I fried it. It has some crunchy spots!
The sauce. And the additional spices…for the SPICY!!
The recipe called for red peppers. Which of course we don’t have and I don’t want to go to the store. Mostly because I am in my pjs already. So instead I used cayenne pepper. I only put 1/2-3/4 tsp. I didn’t really measure. I just sprinkled it; we will see how spicy I made it!
sauté…Sauté…SAUTÉ!Our trusty rice cooker.
I started the rice when I was defrosting the meat. So it should be done here soon. Right around the perfect time, I might add. 😎
I added the sauce.
The sauce consisted of soy sauce, brown sugar, and oil. I believe since the spicy part needed to sauté, the sauce will just take on the flavors.
I will explain this picture.
I realize this picture looks the same as the one above but I added the watered flour mixture. (Most people use cornstarch) but if you can see those small clumps in the top center…that is flour that cooked and formed a lump. I tried to whisk it in…it wouldn’t so I… just scooped them out and then…
Look! No more white clumps and thickening up nicely.
Yep. I cheated! I decided to take out the imperfections instead of trying to make it work. Mwahahahaha!
Add the steak!
Looks really yummy. I think I should have cut the meat up thinner, but since it is not the steak it really called for I wanted to make sure I didn’t make a texture similar to shoe.
Looks yummy!
I still don’t know if it’s too spicy. I didn’t taste it.
Well I finished the food, and I will say… WOW! That was a bit spicy. Good! Definitely still delicious, but spicy. So two and half glasses of milk later…
Taste: 8.5! I think I will measure out the cayenne pepper next time. And maybe stay between 1/4-1/2tsp. Just to be on the safe side. I give it an 8.5 because it was almost too spicy. I prefer spicy to be enough where I can still enjoy it.
Look like photo: 9.5! Just because their steak looks thinner.
Easiness: 8. It wasn’t the simplest recipe to follow. Since some steps were left out and I had to improvise. Also the exploding oil; which is considered my fault because I did not have the correct pot. To understand look at the next photo…
😳
I don’t know if you can see all the oil splatters…but I will be cleaning this stove constantly these next few days. Because the burners are probably covered in oil splatter as well. 😑
Leftovers
It made a decent amount of leftovers. Two servings like this.
Leftover sauce
I might use this on some chicken. I think the flavor of the sauce will taste just as good on chicken.
This watermelon is from the 4th. I feel like I’ve been eating it everyday and it never seems to be making a dent…when will it be gone?
Enjoy your Thursday!! The week is more than halfway done. 😎
Only frying the tortilla and using ground beef. I wanted the crispy crunch from the tortilla but I didn’t want to eat something drenched in oil. The husband approved.
We are trying to eat better. I love food, but I am discovering I gain weight easily now as an adult…I miss the younger days…
Anyways…
Again defrosting. It seems to be taking forever. Also the tortillas…
I forgot I already used up all the tortillas…so I have to section some off so they defrost faster. Now it is definitely a good thing I am frying them or they would be super soggy. 😣
I think, I thought I would be cooking for a billion people…I had a brain fart. Only about 1/2” of oil.
Normally I would probably add some oil, but instead I just went with what I had. It should be fine.
So I decided to dry and remove as much of the excess oil as possible. Paper towels are awesome!Huh?
At this point I decided to add to my cooking preparation. Salsa. Homemade! I found a recipe a while ago and it was a big hit with the hubby and Eli! And me. But no one really cares. Haha 😂
The recipe.Combine all to bowl. The sweetness used in this recipe is honey. And I didn’t have a jalapeño, and I didn’t have any red pepper flakes…so I just used 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper.
We have a large food processor; I got it as a Christmas present. But sadly I never want to use it because I would rather not have more dishes. I know that is stupid and lazy, but I am that way occasionally.
The hubby wants 3 and I will have 2. Meat!
So for the meat, I will say I did drain off all the excess fat off the meat. I didn’t want any extra calories. So didn’t add the spices and chilies until after.
4 rounds in my mini food processor later…!!So the extra tortillas, I made as chips. So that when I want a snack I can have some chips and salsa.
The chips are just fried. I didn’t add any salt or lime juice. I wanted them to be a vessel for the salsa.
The garnish. Eli’s dinner.
I was not about to fight the battle today. If she would eat…she ate some of daddy’s breakfast, all of her own, a big serving of Alfredo noodles, and some cookies today so far.
Back to the cooking. Now I know why to add more oil.
…
Because after I finished the chips I only had a thin layer of oil covering the bottom of the pot. Not good. Could have burned the pot…
The process of my creation. I thought of it after I made the hubbies plate. Mwahahahaha 😎A dollop of sour cream.
The thought was…to cover the tortilla with the amount of sour cream you would normally top your taco. But let’s be honest. That dollup is huge…! I used way too much. Did I wipe the excess…no. I did that throughout the recipe but not now. Makes no sense.
Meat layer. Cheese. Topped with lettuce and drizzled salsa.
It was delicious. We had planned to eat it flat like that, but as soon as we picked it up, it folded into a taco.
It is not really a recipe I can score. Since it was a mash up of ideas.
It’s amazing how much traveling exhausts me. I’ll begin to feel it towards the end of my trip, but it will slam into me when I get home.
This is the reason I have been lazy with posting. I didn’t realize I would be so exhausted. I’m also exhausted due to other factors, but the biggest one…
Eli has been waking up at 4:00am the past two days. 😖 It is miserable. I fell back asleep yesterday around 8:00am and woke up at 10:30am…that was not a smart plan.
So today I just said, “Screw it!” and just decided to wake up. So hopefully this makes her nap today, but also that I will be exhausted enough to go to bed early. My sleeping schedule has been that of a teenager…like 12am-8am. I know it could be manageable, but not so much with a two year old with a current awful sleeping schedule.
But back to the main point. I will stop being lazy and start posting again. And I will begin the next part of my story!! Don’t worry. I won’t make it be like all my other stories that I just end.
Today is the last day I can spend with my family on our visit. So I am going to enjoy it to the fullest.
Some pictures from our trip…💕
Lots of fresh yummy fruit from grandma’s yard! I ate 12…? the first afternoon I got to my mom’s house…🤣Elizabeth got to hold a chicken! Haha I don’t know if she liked it or not…Beach Day!! Eli loved the ocean!!She kept wanting to go farther and farther!Day at the zoo!! So many animals!!
Just a few photos of our many great adventures! So enjoy your Friday! Because that is exactly what I will be doing! 😎
Hiking!Actually the first time she can walk on her own following Daddy. So big! With her backpack and ponytail!The river was rushing…Then…Mama and baby cross the bridge! (Finally a picture with mama)My two favorite people!! ❤️What is this you might ask? A spider nest the size of two hands…Yeah…nope! I zoomed in to the photo so that you could see…I was not getting closer…Stop looking! Catch up to the family…!?!A sleeping baby on the drive home…❤️
Our very first legit hike. Not one where I had to carry her the entire time. Not one where she got angry 10min in…
We did leave after about 20min. Because a storm was coming, and I didn’t want to attempt this hike wet and muddy…with a two year old…
But still it was a fun day. And it was filled with such sweet moments.
This Spring is more like Summer… I’m missing the cooler temperatures here…
It’s hotter here than where my family lives…🥵Warm weather does mean…walks in the neighborhood. Water time with Daddy!! We got a small pool. Eli loves the water. Warmer weather means happy moods.Funny faces contests…!Splish splash!! More pool time!!While making lunch she shoved an entire carrot in her mouth. (Her hair was also crazy!)Day is over. Now time for sleep…Just happy days ending with happiness! ❤️
When the warm weather is here it means we can do more things. Yes it means that Eli overheats in any temperature above 65 degrees, but playing in water she survives.
I hope your days can be warm, and spent with family! 💕
When I first saw the word poignant, and looked up it’s meaning, I thought of of the military. They work so hard; then they enjoy and saver the time with their families. But that day of redeployment comes back around.
I have no experience, but I havefriends with experiences. Hearing their tales of love, but then letting them leave is impressive, in itself.
Thank you for your service! Those who make it safe and free, I thank you. ❤️
emily2jane 