Tag Archives: food

Journey With Cookbooks #26

I’ve been on vacation. Blog posts were put on the back burner to fully enjoy my time off.

But…Another Pinterest recipe with a repetitive recipe. Onion rings and orange chicken.

Since I was already going to be frying the chicken, I decided to make some onion rings. The hubby has been craving onion rings for a while now.

The picture for the recipe on Pinterest.

I had high hopes for them. Since I’m picky about onion rings too.

The recipe called for 2-3 onions.

I didn’t realize how much that would make…I cut up way too many. And I used sweet onions. It’s the bag that was opened in the cabinet.

Flour mixture
Egg and milk mixture.
Panko crumb mixture.

Why does it always want to auto correct panko to Pablo…very annoying.

So many things.

Yes. There is chocolate cake there too. The hubby wanted something chocolate at work the other day so I made some cake.

The rice has begun.

Don’t forget that the real dinner is orange chicken…

The chicken is cubed.

That’s only three chicken breast. I decided to do three so that there would be leftovers for the hubby’s next shifts.

I don’t know if I have stated this before…

But my sister gave me this thermometer for my birthday. This is my forever one!

The chicken has been tossed once.

The chicken will have to wait until the onion rings are done. I guess the onion rings are more of an appetizer to the orange chicken. Weird mix…

See this cutting board?

I turned to do something quickly. As I turned back to the cutting board I saw my baby climbing up towards it! I yelled for the hubby, and baby got startled and ran away. Better than her mess with raw chicken.

This is already: dip onions in flour mixture, smother in egg mixture, another flour dusting, and now the second dipping of egg mixture.

A rather sticky process but it is looking delicious!

Now the panko coating.
The frying.

The oil was heated to 350. It only took about 2min to completely cook the onion rings. They came out golden brown and crispy.

I had called the hubby that the first batch was done…

He devoured most of these onion rings. Haha! He said I’ve ruined another food for him. He will no longer be able to eat onion rings out. Mwahahahaha!

Before the last two rounds are done…these lonely two onion rings are left.

The hubby did feed my a couple bites as he eat the onion rings. I’m amazed…He shared his food. Haha

Chicken time!
The chicken takes more time so I have moments to eat the onion rings.

I don’t think I am going to be hungry for the orange chicken…

Oh so crispy.

The oil was already filled with burnt panko crumbs from the onion rings. So occasionally as I pulled the chicken out I would get some burnt crumbs. Just some extra flavor!

About half my normal amount of orange chicken.

I wish onion rings could be a meal!

The green beans must have been freezer burnt. None of us ate our greens. They were nasty.

Dishes…
Dishes…
More dishes.

It seemed never ending. But I decided to wait until after dinner to do the dishes. The hubby and baby would go watch a movie; while I do the dishes and listen to my book.

But first cake. Cake is always comes first. Yummy!!

Look like photo: 10! They look identical to the picture. Crispy golden brown!

Taste: 10! The onion rings are awesome!! If I could rate it 1,000 I would!!!

Easiness: 9! I think because of the stickiness it is more difficult than fries, but the time quantity is way shorter than fries.

Overall… a definite yes to the recipe! Will try again soon. Maybe tomorrow! Also the cake gets a 10!

Journey With Cookbooks #24

Today’s recipe is Costco’s Chicken Bakes.

The bacon is done already from breakfast; and I have almost all the correct ingredients!

I’m actually not listening to music this time. I’ve been listening to DryBar YouTube comedy videos. They are my kind of humor. 😆

I’ve been wanting to snack all day…so I decided to have a yummy food for dinner. Also in the high hopes that my daughter would eat it.

Homemade pizza dough

I’ve become picky with pizza dough. Mine is delicious and I know what’s in it!

Ranch and bacon

The recipe says ranch or Caesar dressing. I have ranch. I shall use ranch.

2 chicken breast.

I’ve been trying to use less chicken in recipes and only make a smaller amount. I’ve come to find out I can stretch two chicken breasts pretty far.

Cook the chickens about 15min
Look at this!

You are probably wondering why I’m pointing out this amazing paper covered pan…because I didn’t read the next step and it said to oil the pan…😑

So….

I’m saving that paper. Not so much for the being frugal… but because one day I’m going to use it correctly and when it is needed and I shall do a wonderful maniacal laugh!! Mwahahahahahaha!!

Back on topic…

Chicken is cooking nicely!

I’ve always cooked chicken a solid 20min. No matter how it is chopped…so my chicken has been pretty dry, 8 times out of 10. So I looked up How long to cook cubed chicken? Google says 15min…I shall trust google…

My rolling station is complete!
Look at that bowl…

Not the bowl of bacon…but the bowl of death… usually you only see about 1-2 TBSP in a salad… but not the cup amount in that bowl.

Done!

I always drain the chicken. Only when it is being added to something else.

Dough.
Ranch.

Plop!

Bacon!

Best part! I would totally sample some but I wouldn’t have enough.

Cheese and chicken!

Even though I’m using less chicken, I don’t skimp out of the serving size of the chicken!

Roll similar to a burrito…

Sandwich/ burrito…I now know how wraps were discovered…

On the greased pan!

Stupid greased pan…

😳

I ran out of mozzarella cheese…like in the entire house. We just went to Costco too.

😎

The recipe said to make 6…but let’s be honest I wanted a big one for dinner. Don’t worry I’ll be eating some celery later…

So that is an egg/ lite ranch/ pizza seasoning topping wash. It smells delicious!

Dishes…

I of course had let the kitchen go a little crazy because I’ve been drawing and painting. Moms out there… you understand, you give yourself some you time and the house falls apart…

Yumm!

For mine I used less ranch. I wanted to keep it a little healthier, but I wanted to eat all the delicious dough! So realistically not that much healthier…

So excited!

Look Like Photo: 8. But who really cares about this part…you want to know about the taste…

Taste: 10!! So delicious! I will definitely be making this again. But probably not often because of the amount of calories I just devoured.

Easiness: 9. It wasn’t really hard. Quite simple if you have all the ingredients. Just the prep, before the oven, is what takes most of the time.

Overall a keeper!!

DryBar Video to watch:

Your Dumb Friend – Cam Bertrand

This was the video I watched. My hubby kept looking at me funny, as I busted up in laughter. Only I could hear it. Haha, I probably looked insane.

Enjoy your Tuesday! 🤤

Journey With Cookbooks #22

Ramen… I was craving ramen and we did not have any of the prepackaged kind…I love that kind!!……..

Sorry. Just got distracted thinking of ramen, and the many ways to eat it!! So I decided to attempt to make some from scratch. I already am expecting this to be a fail, but I’m trying it anyways!!

Looks yummy!

Well I am just going to admit early. It will probably taste strange since I don’t have several of the ingredients. I will say, this recipe does not call for the many authentic ingredients…but I want ramen so I’m still going to make some!!

First fail…

It called for green onions. I don’t have any. I was going to use a yellow onion…but I don’t have that either…so red onion it is…

At this point it is smelling similar to the instant ramen…maybe it will work!!?

Cook the noodles!

Again a fail…it called for ramen noodles…I had egg noddles. I thought that would be better than spaghetti noodles…

Can you feel my uncertainty and lack of confidence as you read…haha! I know I can!

Well…I improvised again…

The recipe didn’t call for celery, but me, with my “extensive knowledge”, decide to try it. Probably since I thought this was going to be a flop I decided to go with the flow…

Add the beef broth…

It smells delicious! I’m sure it would have been better with the right ingredients, but I must say it smells alright!

Round steak.

It said to garnish with some steak and green onions. I at least have the steak! I’m not a complete failure. I only was going to use a few pieces for my dinner. I’ll cook the rest up when I make leftover servings.

The broth…

Still smells good. I’m not going to try it until it’s complete.

Sizzling steak!

At least I know one part of the meal is going to be edible.

Noodles.
Add the noodle…
Looks pretty good!

It would look prettier with the green onion garnish…but alas the time has come to see if it is a fail or not…

Wow! 🥵 Spicy! I only added 1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes…maybe when you cook red pepper flakes they increase in spiciness…well that’s a bummer.

The overall taste is not too bad, but the spiciness really hits you. The steak is a nice addition.

Look like photo: 2. Let’s be honest it looks nothing like the photo. I gave it a two: since there is broth, meat, and noodles…

Taste: …? 3…wow that’s a sad, sad score. Reading these scores you are going to be turned away. But I gave it a three because I could taste the instant ramen flavor under the the spiciness… 🥵 the spicy…wow. But I think it would have been better if I had the right ingredients.

Easiness: 9. It was pretty easy. It consisted of putting everything in a pot and cooking it. I just wish I had done a better job.

Thankfully the hubby was on a night shift. Meaning my complete failure was not for both of us… and Eli had Mac n cheese.

Well…I might try this again in the future…but I think I will just bite the bullet and buy the instant ramen when I want some! Ramen………❤️

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Journey With Cookbooks #21

Duh duh dunnnnnnnm!

The dessert from the other day….

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!

Journey With Cookbooks #18

I tried a new recipe. I asked the hubby…

“Any preference for dinner?”

“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. 😎

Journey With Cookbooks #11

The chuck roast recipe…😎 and a surprise…!

Shredded Barbecue Beef…🤤
Four pounds of yummy!!

As I said in #10’s post that it had to marinate for 24hrs.

Spices ready!!
Meat prepared!! See you tomorrow morning!
Oooooooooooo

So it’s not the most exciting process…and I also tweaked the recipe. The recipe called for using a barbecue to grill the meat in a foil container…I didn’t want to break the hubby’s grill while he was out so I made do with a crockpot. I looked up various crockpot chuck roast recipes and they all said similar: Low 8-10hrs. 😎

You can’t really see the progress, but it smells delicious!!

At this point we have about 3hrs to go…

Okay so at this point we have eaten lunch and I have been skimming through this new cookbook and come upon…churros…😳

Churros it is!!

Who can skip the churros recipe…

The batter did not seem correct but I just went with it expecting it to fail…
I didn’t have the correct nozzle so I just made them like this…
Well I got creative with the shapes as the rounds went on, but you see that empty plate…that means they are being eaten as I finish them. 😎

They might have looked strange but they were yummy!!

The cinnamon roll shaped ones came out the best!

Okay back to the roast. It is almost ready!!

It just fell off the bone…actually I thought I was going to be able to pick it up by the bone and the bone just slipped out. 😎

I didn’t realize the recipe was going to have me make a BBQ sauce, but I am happy it did. Costco has not been selling our favorite BBQ sauce, so we’ve been pretty limited.

Made with some of the juices and other varied ingredients, I followed the recipe!

Well I kind of followed it. When I was reading the ingredients my brain change cider to white. So I added 1/2 cup of white vinegar. I realized after I pour it in, and decided to try and ladle some out. I then added about 1/4 cup of cider vinegar. Nobody in my household will know! 😎

Hopefully I am making you hungry!!

Removing the fat this is what remains!! Enough for a few dinners!!

I had to taste it at this point…Yum!

Add some sauce…and…
Hubby’s food.
My food.

I know I always say be healthy but we do occasionally eat other veggies besides salad, I’ve just been too lazy.

So…this recipe is a must for anyone out there that loves meat and barbecue…A MUST!

Look Like Photo: Chuck Roast: Maybe an 8. Since I didn’t smoke/ grill the meat it didn’t take on as much color….I think. I’m not really sure; I’m still new at cooking big chunks of meat.

Churros: 0…it did not in the slightest look like the photo…😒

Taste: Chuck Roast: 10!!!!!!!!!!! I would say 100! But it is out of 10 so 10!!!!!!! The hubby would have had seconds but I said no.

Churros: I would give a 9! It tasted amazing but I think I will follow a different recipe. The dough seemed more like funnel cake batter…that probably would have worked better.

Easiness: 10! Because it was cooked in a crockpot it was super easy!! I think the churros were harder; giving churros a 7.

So overall I had another busy day! Hopefully this drive to cook continues…I love food! I have been exercising…I exercise to eat food!! Mwahahahaha! 😎

Husbands in the world…if you want some new varieties give your wife a cookbook. But make sure she knows you aren’t saying her food is awful. So maybe give her some flowers too!

Enjoy!

Journey With Cookbooks #10

So I lied when I said I would be starting the other Ree Drummond cookbook. I needed to find a recipe for 4lbs of chuck roast…so I dove into this one instead!!

I thought a country styled cookbook would have plenty of meat recipes…I was correct!

However this blog post is not about the chuck roast. It had to marinate for 24hrs, so I decided to make chicken nuggets from the same cookbook.

Frying in peanut oil again!

You should know. After getting the chuck roast ready I decided upon a crazy idea…I have been in the kitchen since 11:45am…it is currently 4:40pm. I cleaned the refrigerator…

So clean!!! 😍

I thought I would have a break to sit down after my madness of cleaning…nope. Dinner here I come!

All my ingredients are ready.

I forgot I needed to defrost the chicken; so that I could put it in the brine concoction. It had to sit in the fridge for 30min….

Sitting for the short 30min…🤤
Breading of the chicken!!

It was actually an easy process. I was quite surprised how easy. It was a nice change for starting a new cookbook.

It’s coming along!!
Round 2 of breading…Well…

When the recipe tells you to cut even pieces it’s actually for a reason. Because then the piece cook the same amount of time. I had to cook the big pieces together, and cook them a little longer.

But it still looks delicious!!
Done!

Since I was using a pot and not a dutch oven I had to do a few more rounds. Try four more rounds…

The fries were from another dinner.

Keeping it healthy…we had a salad!

Again this recipe does not seem so exciting but it actually was! I fried chicken and it came out done and still moist…I have become a master at frying…at least in my household!

The hubby and Elizabeth both said yum yum when I served them.

The fries, sadly, did not survive to this dinner, they were hard and were kind of chewy, but Elizabeth still ate them all off her plate…😳

Look Like Photo: 10! I think because I did not use the vegetable oil it looks a bit different in color but overall…10!! 😎

Taste: Hubby 10! Elizabeth 10! Me 10! So delicious. Will definitely be making this again. And might use the temp, time, and breading for other various chicken recipes!!

Easiness: I give it a solid 9. One point off of perfect because I had to do several extra rounds. But the rounds were only 3-4min long. So we are talking an extra 12-16min. That’s why I give it a 9!!

My next cooking post will be about the chuck roast recipe!! It was delicious as well!!

Ooooooooooooo 😯 Big hunk of yes please!!!

Journey With Cookbooks #3

Well after we got home from an outing I decided I should figure out something for dinner. Of course I went to a cookbook for inspiration… and I decided upon Asian Hot Wings. It sounded delicious.

As I went through the recipe I discovered it’s a bit harder than I imagined. I have to fry the chicken first…since her recipe calls for wings and I’m using chicken breast, I had to find an additional recipe off the internet for fried chicken. It will work, but it is going to add about 1hr extra time.

Also I don’t have all the ingredients again, so I am making what I have work. Since I’ve never had this before I have nothing to compare it to.
I decided to cut the chicken breasts into thick slices.
If using chicken breast you have to flour the chicken to give it “a skin”, similar to wings. I didn’t have buttermilk so I just used milk.
Frying the chicken in rounds, about 8-10 pieces for each round…

This is my first time ever frying! I am frying in peanut oil. Hopefully it works!

The sauce for the chicken. I tasted it and it was delicious and not too spicy!
Wow! 😳 it actually looks like it is supposed to look like…?
😎👏

You have to understand. I was going into this recipe expecting I was going to totally screw it up and have to throw it out!! I am so happy it turned out well! I had two more rounds of chicken. The oil seemed to be burning by the last round…but it still looked edible!

That is the finished product! I baked it for 10min with the sauce. I’m super hungry now!!
My hubby’s plate….

Well I must say it was delicious!! I will definitely be making this recipe again. But I think I will cut the chicken up into bite sizes instead; similar to orange chicken.

Look like picture: 7! I think the only difference is I didn’t mince the peppers and onions small enough for them to cook down. But pretty similar!!

Taste: 10!!!! I was told I have to make it again! Elizabeth had some rice with the sauce and liked it. She is an odd little thing, she loves spicy foods; thankfully the sauce wasn’t too spicy. However, maybe next time I might add one more jalapeño…

Easiness: It is kind of hard to say…because when I make orange chicken the process takes me a lot longer… Still, I guess I would give it a solid 6. It really wasn’t too bad, and with each time it will get easier. 😉

Well I hope you have a great Weekend! Mine will be filled with Family, exercising, and FOOD!! I still exercise to eat food…my life plan…😂

The Eating Machine.

I have been doing this calorie counting app for about 2 months now. I am not using it as a way to diet or lose weight I was just more curious about what I was eating. As an athlete I could eat anything and it didn’t matter. But now as I eat this Greek Honey Yogurt I ponder on why I am eating it….

I’m hungry! And even if it takes up 300 of my calorie intake I will eat it anyways. Because I am one weird eating machine…

Saturday I ate the right amount of calories and I stayed the same weight. Monday I ate not enough calories and I gained weight. And Yesterday I ate too many calories (insert evil laugh, “Mwahahaha”) and I lost a pound. I don’t get it. Even my brother told me I was eating too much for dinner, but I was hungry so I ate it all! 

I know it won’t be like this forever, but I still find it odd…the funny part is the app graphs your weight as chart, and mine looks like jagged/vampire teeth…

I know this is a weird post, but it’s what was on my mind at the moment…It’s kinda funny to me. 🙂

November 13, 2015 at 12:30 P.M.

I am strangely a highly competitive person. But the sad thing about it is I sometimes am competitive with myself.

Like today at lunch time I had amazing delicious Chinese food,that I had been craving for 3 weeks; but, during my meal, I was three quarters of the way done and the voice of reason said:

“Stop now, because you are content. You can finish it later if you become hungry again.” (Imagine this voice as my angelic side.)

However, there on the other shoulder sprung my highly competitive side.

“No! You want and must finish it now! So, you can proclaim your supreme accomplishment of completion!”

Sadly, I usually have these types of conversations in mind, but rarely do I speak them out loud.

It is ridiculous; I was having a competition based on food with myself.

My competitive side won the match and I finished my meal. I strangely feel like I did accomplish something and I dominated my competitor. But now I get to listen to that angel of reason laughing at me as I sit and suffer through my bloated feelings.

Why do I have to be SO competitive?

Maybe I need to exercise more…