Apple Cider Donuts - Tasty Tuesday!

I had one cooking goal this fall.  Well, one that's specific to this fall anyway: to make apple cider donuts.  I absolutely adore them, and it's one of those treats that I buy every year.  Why I haven't made them, I don't know.  I've made pumpkin donuts before, and they aren't hard... they just make a ton of donuts.

So this past weekend, I set out to make my donuts.  I was originally going to make the traditional round donuts with the holes in them until I realized that I prefer eating the little "holes" and that the round donuts are not my friend.  Yes, this is an easy recipe - and I made it dairy free so Little Miss could enjoy it, but it wasn't originally so (see notes for the changes).

I've shared them with several of my friends, and I have half the recipe sitting in my fridge to make later today.  They're awesome.  And fun.  And oh what a special treat, right?

Apple Cider Donuts

Ingredients:
2 c apple cider
1 c sugar
1/4 c butter, room temperature (or butter substitute for dairy free)
1/2 c buttermilk (or rice/soy/coconut milk with about 2 T mayonnaise - trust me)
2 eggs
3 1/2 c flour
1 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
3/4 t cinnamon
3/4 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg
Additional sugar and cinnamon for rolling post frying

Directions:
Reduce the apple cider.  This will take about a half hour or more, and you can do it in advance then stick it in the fridge for when you're ready to make donuts.  My husband also decided this was a really good topping for ice cream.  Just sayin'.  Boil the apple cider until it's reduced to about 1/4 cup.  It will be slightly thicker and much darker than when it started, but don't burn it.

When you're ready to make the donuts themselves, measure out the butter and place it into a mixing bowl.  Personally, I love using my special liquid/dry measuring cup for items like butter that tend to stick in a regular measuring cup - honey, mayonnaise, etc are much easier in this, too.

Beat the butter with the sugar, just like your normal baking recipe.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well until combined.  Add the reduced cider and buttermilk, and beat again.   Add the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, then mix until fully incorporated.

At about this point, you'll want to start heating your oil.  You want a wide pan, deep enough to hold a couple inches of oil.  Heat on medium high to 350 degrees.

While the oil is heating, add the flour and stir until just combined.  Flour your working surface with extra flour, and pull out a clump of dough.  Carefully roll it in the flour until you can work with it and create a snake like you did in kindergarten with clay.  Using a knife or a board scraper, cut off half inch sections of dough.

When you think the oil is hot enough, drop in a test dough ball.  You want it to immediately start bubbling around your dough.  If it doesn't, your oil isn't hot enough.  Pull it out, and try again in a few minutes.

Place several donuts at a time, but be sure there is plenty of room for them to move and expand.  They will take only a minute or so to fry on each side before you need to flip them over.  A fork or slotted spoon or chopstick works perfectly for this.

While they are frying on the first side, prepare your finishing station.  On a cookie sheet, place a wire rack.  Atop the wire rack, lay paper towels so that the grease can fully drain from the donuts.  Prepare a bowl with 1 c sugar and 2 t cinnamon to roll your donuts in after they've drained for a few minutes.

Now you're ready to start the assembly line.  Fry a few, flip.  Add some more while the first ones are frying on their second side.  You'll know they're ready to flip when the bubbles start reaching the top of the donut and the sides are a beautiful golden brown.

Pull them out with a slotted spoon when they're done, and add some more.  Let the donuts cool and drain for a few minutes before rolling them in the cinnamon sugar and placing them on a separate plate. Keep frying, rolling more donuts, flipping, and draining until the donut dough is all gone.

The donuts are awesome still warm, but they will keep in a tightly sealed container with a paper towel under them once they've cooled for up to three days.  If they last that long.  If you don't want to make all your donuts at once, you can refrigerate your dough for a couple days.  Make sure you bring it to room temperature - or close - before you fry them, though.  If batter is too cold, it will absorb the grease before frying and will be a much heavier and not as yummy donut.

Enjoy this and more with Blessed With Grace and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.  Rachel from A Southern Fairytale has an awesome Mouthwatering Monday linkup that I participate in, too.

Future Romance Writer

This morning, as the wee ones were waiting for the bus, I walked into the homework room to straighten things up just a little.  I can usually find one or two pieces of paper that need to be recycled amongst the detritus, and I sneak it out when they aren't looking.  This morning, I found a letter Little Miss wrote to one of her puffles.  And I'm not sure if I'm impressed or a little disturbed.

I do know a little of the back story.  Puffles are little furball stuffed animals the wee ones love from Disney's Club Penguin.  They each have a few of the stuffed animals as souvenirs from our trips to Disney, and they have a ton of fun with them from running "Camp Puffle" to celebrating their birthdays. Recently, Little Miss brought her three Puffles to school and shared them with friends for the night.  Needless to say, I put the kibosh on this as soon as I learned they were out of the house, but one Puffle is still at a child's house for a "two week vacation."  He's supposed to come back today, but I don't have much faith.  That said, it isn't a bad lesson for the wee ones.

So I'm guessing that's where this letter came from.  I promise that since she doesn't watch tv, and I watch any movie with her, I know this isn't something she's picked up elsewhere.  I hope.  I'm going to talk to her tonight to get a sense of where this letter came from.

My Dear Strike,  

Mr. Fun has left the igloo, just like you have left my hands, my heart, my house, my bed, and the other Puffles, toys, and Angry Birds' hearts.  

Sincerely yours,

Little Miss

PS I hope you have fun.  I keep trying to think of happy times with you and Mr. Fun, but I keep seeing the letter from Mr. Fun.  I even draw pictures.

(Yes, I edited for clarity.)  So should I be worried?  Or should I just enroll her in the creative writing summer camps and encourage this newfound talent for trashy novel writing?

My Lack Of A Life List

People talk about bucket lists all the time.  In fact, I'll frequently see a page on blogs that has that person's bucket list with the accomplished items crossed out.  I admire that.  I used to have a spreadsheet with... well, watch the video and see.

This week's #VlogMom prompt comes from Jessica at Look Who Found the Marbles.  She asks about our bucket lists, or as she calls them, our life lists.

Do you have a life list?  What are the three items you most want to cross off your list, and why?

So how about you?  What are the items on your bucket list?  Inspire me!  And then go see what the other Vlog Moms have to say.

BlogHer Book Club: Reflected In You

If you haven't figured this out by now, I love to read.  I love reading books I wouldn't normally pick up, partly because I've exhausted my favorite writers.  And their favorite writers.  Reflected in You by Sylvia Day is probably not one of the books I would have picked up on my own, even though it is currently the #1 New York Times bestseller.

Reflected in You is the second novel in the Crossfire series, featuring Gideon Cross - another mid-twenties billionaire who owns companies with a twisted past - and Eva Tramell, who has recently graduated college and is working her first job in Manhattan - and of course she comes with a twisted past of her own.  Sound somewhat familiar?

It actually has its own nuances and is a different story from the 50 Shades books, though there it falls into the same erotic genre - sans naughty play - with the disparity in power of the relationship.  Eva, however, comes from money on her mother's side and has a best friend she lives with in her spacious apartment, paid for by her stepfather.  I had similar queasy stomach issues reading this book and seeing the decisions that the characters would make as I have in reading similar novels.

That said, I'm awaiting the next Crossfire novel (and I'm slightly ashamed to admit that).  I did read the first novel in the series, Bared to You, prior to reading Reflected in You, but the book has enough backstory that you can read the second novel without having read the first.  The first does provide much of the detail that helps the second flow more smoothly, however.

I have never been in a relationship that started with all-consuming passion from the first moment, where there is a question of where the line between obsession and caring needs to be drawn.  And I have certainly never been in a relationship with such a power discrepancy, nor where the passion/obsession has been maintained at such a high level for so long.

It worries me a little to think that young adults might view this as a typical or expected relationship, when there is so much about it that is unhealthy - both individually amongst the characters and with their relationships.  That was hard to close my mind to as I was reading because I worry about the wee ones as they grow older and develop their own relationships, not just romantically but with friends.  And all those relationships are pretty messed up, too, in this book.

And fortunately, this book is more about the relationships amongst the characters and less about the raw carnality, which makes it a much easier read for me.  I'll admit that I get bored when there is more intercourse than story.  And Reflected in You certainly has plenty of story, disturbing as much of it is.

Have you read either of the Crossfire novels?  Do you plan to?  Regardless, jump in with the BlogHer Book Club discussion.  This week, we're talking about how we recharge when life is too overwhelming.  I certainly can't afford to jet off to Vegas or have a spa come to my home for a day of pampering, but I find my ways.  Share with us what you do!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a copy of the Crossfire novels for review purposes.  I am also compensated for participating in this campaign. That said, all opinions remain my own.

How To Do A Football Manicure

I love football.  And when I saw that one of my friends had posted a photo of the most awesome - and timely - manicure ever, I knew I had to figure out how to do it myself.  Headless Mom had a football manicure, and it was awesome.

I may have never done any sort of nail art myself at all, but it couldn't be that hard, right?  It actually isn't.  I've been giving myself this manicure since the first week of the college football season, and I've figured out how to - and how not to - do the football manicure.  I am constantly stopped by people admiring my nails, and it's fun.

I've figured out that the nails don't have to be perfect to get the effect across.  I'm the only one who looks at them with a magnifying glass and sees every imperfection.  Everyone else sees them and just thinks they look really cool - from at least a couple feet away.

Football Nail Art Steps

The most important thing is to choose the right polish.  You want a toffee football brown, which is very doable.  When you look at the polish, look at the chips by the display and not what's in the bottle.  You'll notice that what is in the bottle looks a ton lighter than what shows on my fingers.  And because it's a dark color, the second coat makes a huge difference.  I was skeptical the first time I put on my first coat, but it's the right color!

In total, you will need three polishes: the toffee brown, a white nail art (not regular white - see below), and a clear polish with a thick brush.

Step 1:
Obviously, paint your nails brown in two coats just like you would with a normal manicure.  After you've shaped your nails and pushed back your cuticles, of course!

See, totally different color brown than what's in the bottle!

Step 2:
Once your brown coats have dried to a degree, you'll be ready to do your white nail art.  Pull the brush from the bottle, and ensure that any extra polish that is higher up on the brush's stick is discarded on the edge of the lid so it doesn't drip down while you're painting.  You then want to drag the brush against that same edge, removing most of the polish from a "front" and a "back" which will create a flatter surface.  Turn the brush a quarter turn,  and use that sharp edge to do the painting.

Do just the long side of the laces first.  I've found that the easiest way to do this to create and even and a straight line is to place the tip of the brush on the back of a nail, then pull your hand straight back instead of trying to move your brush hand.  You end up with a much better line that way.

Step 3:
Create the short side of the laces.  Again, use the same technique for the short side of the laces as for the long side.  Be sure your hand is angled the right way for this, as otherwise you'll have the short laces at an angle to the long laces instead of perpendicular, and it doesn't look quite right.  I'm still perfecting this part.  Make them much shorter than you'd think you need to - see below for the why!

Step 4:
Place your clear coat atop the laces.  You have to be careful with this step.  This is where the thick brush is a necessity.  You want much more clear polish on the brush than you normally use.  You want only the polish touching your nails, with the brush above the polish moving it.  If you aren't careful, the brush will pull the white polish and smudge the beautiful laces you just created.  You also want to be sure to do no more than three strokes to cover your nails with clear polish - once in the middle and then once on either side, being careful each time not to smudge the white.

And voila!  These nails are super easy and create a ton of fun attention - and support for the sport you love.

How Not To Do Football Nail Art

The steps are fairly easy, and I've also figured out what doesn't work.  The first time I did it, my dad saw my nails and asked if they were Christmas trees.  Or if they were Chinese characters.  Obviously I had a little work to do.  That said, most other people knew they were footballs; my dad's a little oblivious.

I had purchased white nail polish, and I used the end of a toothpick to apply the laces.  The toothpick holds onto too much polish, so it ends up too thick.  After showing this to a few friends, they told me about nail art polish.  It's regular polish that is in a bottle with an extra thin brush.  I picked that up, and it made all the difference in the world.  Another friend suggested using a thin paint marker, which I'm guessing would also work.  Just... don't use the toothpick.  See?

I also experimented with a variety of laces.  I always did at least three, and I experimented with doing four and five on nails.  If I were really good and could keep the polish lines as consistently thin as professionals do, I think doing five laces would be perfect, depending on your nail length.  For me, whether my nails are longer or shorter (or both at the same time - I'm tacky like that), three laces looked the best.  See?  They look silly.  This was also my first shot with the nail art brush, and I was still learning.

You can also see from the photo above that I would press down with the brush on one side and then slide it across and lift.  It didn't give an even look.  Using just the bare tip of the nail art brush made a big difference.

Additionally, I started out making my laces too wide.  In the photo above, the thumb has the right proportion.  Most of the others are too long on the laces.  Making them shorter than I thought I should actually looks much better.  It's easy to add more polish if needed.  It isn't so easy to take it off.

So what do you think?  Is this not the coolest idea ever?  What is your favorite way to paint your nails? I'm ready to branch out and try something new once football is over.  Maybe I'll really do Christmas trees and surprise my dad....

Tortilla Soup - Tasty Tuesday!

So yes, I've posted a tortilla soup recipe before.  And it's good.  But I gotta say, this one is way easier. And just as yummy.  And the wee ones liked it better, possibly because I put fewer "spicy" ingredients in it.

This is one of those "recipes" that I made in desperation.  I knew I was going to be running around all yesterday afternoon and was going to walk in the door long enough to drop the wee ones off for dinner before heading out again.  Welcome to my life.  If I didn't want them eating fast food (and I didn't), I'd have to have dinner ready for my husband.  That meant something in the crock pot, and that's where I drew a blank.

I literally tossed four frozen chicken breasts into the crock pot while I debated what to make.  I had tomatoes, so I added two cans of that.  And some chicken broth.  Before I knew it, I'd made tortilla soup with less than five minutes' prep time.  No joke.

Of course, neither of the wee ones would want to try it if they knew what was in there.  My secret?  I had them close their eyes and then smell the deliciousness wafting from the crock pot.  Both agreed it smelled awesome.  And voila, they tried, ate, and loved the soup.  Yay!

Yes, I have a photo of the soup in a bowl.  I don't have any photos of me making it because, honestly, they aren't pretty.  And this is so easy that it doesn't even need photos.  Seriously.

Crock Pot Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
4 chicken good size chicken breasts - yes, I used frozen because it's what I had; use fresh or frozen
2 cans diced tomatoes, the 14.5 ounce size
3 c chicken broth
1 can enchilada sauce - I used mild because it was for the wee ones, but use your favorite
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 c frozen corn
2 t salt
1 1/2 t cumin
2 tortillas
oil
Optional: chilis, 1 t chili powder, juice of a lemon

Directions:
Seriously.  This is the easiest ever.  Put your chicken in the crock pot.  Add the tomatoes.  Add the chicken broth.  Chop your onion and add it.  Dice  your garlic and add it.  Add the enchilada sauce.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or me version: on high for four hours (because I had the frozen chicken, remember?) then on low for 2 hours after that.

Pull the chicken from the soup, and gently shred it.  The meat will literally fall apart, it's so tender and yummy.  I just used the back of a spatula to shred it.  Add the chicken to the crock pot again, and add the cumin, then stir.  Add your corn and salt, and stir again and you're done.

If you're using the optional ingredients, go ahead and add the chilis and/or chili powder at the beginning.  The lime juice gets added just before serving.  What else would you include?

To add the tortilla strips to make it truly a tortilla soup, brush them lightly with oil.  Place one atop the other and cut into thin strips, then cut the strips into the length you like.  Place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper or a sil pat.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until they're browning and crispy.  Place them atop your soup as you serve it (if you like sour cream, I've heard that's good, too, but it's never in my house because I don't like it personally).  You can store the extras on the counter in a sealed container for 3 days or so.

Enjoy this and more with Blessed With Grace and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.  Rachel from A Southern Fairytale has an awesome Mouthwatering Monday linkup that I participate in, too.

Halloween: Where Girls Can Be Boys

So apparently it's Halloween week on my blog.  Go figure.  With all the counting down the number of days before it gets here by the wee ones, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.  They've long outgrown the stage where I can choose their costumes for them, so no more being a lion for two years then passing it to the next child to reuse the costume again.

The wee ones at least haven't changed their mind 18 kajillion times before Halloween itself, so I suppose I should be grateful for that.  This year, we had a ninja and Spiderman.

Spiderman is strong, right?

Yes, Spiderman has a strong personality....

So how long can she dress in a costume of her choice?  And more importantly, what did you (and your kids) dress up as for Halloween?