Easy Doughnut Holes

If you're missing those yummy doughnut holes from your local bakery (that's closed due to the pandemic), or if you're bored and have done every single Quarantine activity that you can think of, then try this super easy and 3-ingredient recipe. No lie. One, two, THREE ingredients.

What You Will Need:

- 1 can of biscuits from the freezer section (I personally like the "flaky" kinds best)

- Canola/vegetable oil for frying

- Powdered sugar or whatever toppings you like on your donuts!

Step 1: Get out your ingredients. Start heating your oil on medium heat - it needs to reach 350 degrees. I use a big nonstick skillet with about 1 - 1.5 inches of oil.

Step 2: While your oil is heating up, open the can of biscuits, and separate them.

Step 3: Cut each biscuit in quarters, and roll them into little balls. If you fry them as is (pictured), then they could puff out like an accordion because of the layers. They still taste delicious though. ;)

(Note the lone piece that isn't rolled...just so you could see what it looks like fried.)

Step 4: Time to fry! If you don't have a candy thermometer to tell you how hot your oil is, no worries! I don't have one either! Take a wooden spoon, and carefully place the bottom of the handle in the oil. If bubbles are steadily forming, then it's good to go. If bubbles look violent, then lower the heat a bit. When all else fails, test a small piece of dough.

In small batches, gently place the dough in the oil. Once they're golden brown on one side, then it's time to flip! (I'm hoping you're smart enough to know NOT to do this part with your bare hands; but just in case, DON'T USE YOUR BARE HANDS.)

Quick side story: when I was a little girl (and money was tight), my mom would make these doughnuts for me - mini doughnuts and teeny tinier doughnut holes. I would get so excited watching her peel the paper from the can and hearing that "POP" when it would burst open. (It was definitely a lot scarier back then.) Then I'd help her cut out the holes from the center, and she'd tell me to stay back as she plopped them in hot oil.

Whenever I start frying and the smell of fried dough begins filling my own kitchen, I'm automatically brought back 25 years to our kitchen in our small apartment in the Valley (that's San Fernando Valley in Southern California for you non-SoCal folks). Those were some of the best days I've had with my mom.

Fry, my little pretties. Fry! FRY!

 Step 5: Once they're done, place them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil and to cool.

Step 6: Add your coat/glaze/toppings! My favorite is cinnamon sugar, which was what my mom always coated our doughnuts in. Ralph's is glaze, Owen's is glaze with sprinkles PLUS chocolate sauce for dipping (he's so extra), Henry's is powdered sugar, and Grace's is...all of the above.

Strawberries added for "balance".

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk or, my favorite, iced coffee!

I love how the kids went for the strawberries first. I give them strawberries every freaking morning with their waffles, and they never. touch. the. strawberries. WHY?

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed this quick and easy recipe. Mom, if you're reading this, I love you very much! (Sorry, ya'll. It's been 21 days since I've physically seen my mom and dad, and they live down the street from me. Missing them so much that I'm making food that reminds me of them and my childhood.)

Gracie Gets Pierced!

I've thought about getting Grace's ears pierced ever since she was born, and I figured we'd get it done on my birthday (for two reasons) - 1) She'd be 6 months old and would be sitting up on her own, and 2) I'd get my birthday present at the same time - get my nose pierced.

WHAAAT!

I know. I'll be 32. Why in the world would I get my nose pierced now. I don't know, okay? It's something that I've wanted to do for a looong time but could never get myself to go; but since I was going to take Gracie to get her ears pierced, why not get my nose done too?

But last week, something was nagging me to get it done sooner. I asked around, and I even Googled, "When to get baby's ears pierced?" The results were all over the place.

"When she was a newborn."

"I'll wait until she asks."

"6 months, but I wish I had it done sooner."

"Before 4 months."

"After 1 year."

So many different answers! However, I decided to get it done right away because I read that babies start to localize pain at around 6 months (Grace will be 4 months old on the 18th). I also wanted to do it before she could start playing with her ears; and I knew that if I waited, there was no way I'd take her at 1 year. We'd have to wait until she was old enough to follow instructions and/or until she asked for it.

We looked for a local piercing salon and booked an appointment right away.

Grace was asleep when we arrived, and she stayed asleep when we put her down on the exam table. We looked at the earrings and decided on a pair of simple gold studs. When we looked back over to her, she was wide awake. Fortunately, she was all smiles when the lady (Cleo) did the prep.

Ms. Cleo marking where the piercings would go.

Look at Grace's happy face! Poor thing had NO idea what was coming.

Ears are getting prepped...

Here comes the needle...!

Annnd I'll spare you from all the screaming/crying photos that Ralph took. I'll just share this one.

The look of betrayal.

But once we picked her up, she was totally fine. She was even smiling and cooing at herself in the mirror. So vain, Gracie!

Yay! We survived!

And just like that, she looks a lot older. This is equivalent to when the boys got their first haircut.

Good job, Gracie girl! We're so proud of you! As for me and my nose piercing...we'll see. Maybe I won't do it after all. (Breathe, Mom and Dad!)

Going to the Beach with Lassig

This is definitely the Monday-est of Mondays because Ralph goes back to work today after being off the whole week last week. He always requests Memorial Day week off, and we always do these three things: 1) Trip(s) to Disneyland/California Adventure, 2) Breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen, and 3) A trip to the beach.

The first time we went to the beach as a family of five was on Mother's Day, and we had NO IDEA what the heck we were getting ourselves into. For one, we weren't prepared. At all. We basically said, "Let's go get coffee and donuts and go to Huntington Beach Dog Park," and did just that. We didn't dress the kids in swimwear, we didn't bring towels, and the beach we chose was a bit of a walk from the parking lot...and all the dogs kept coming up to us because of the donuts. *Face palm* (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE dogs, but I don't love it when they come trampling all over me, my kids, and our stuff with wet sandy paws.)

But yesterday, beach day, we were prepared. We ordered some products from Lassig, and they definitely made the trip a lot better. (We also went to Laguna Beach, and the walk from our car was MUCH easier/closer. And it's not a beach for dogs. Heh.)

This is Gracie's second time at the beach (first was Mother's Day), and she was less than thrilled. Ralph and I kept telling her that the "ocean sounds" were loud and clear, but I think she prefers the synthetic kind, haha. But look at her in her first bathing suit (from Lassig)! It is a two-piece tankini, and I cannot wait until she gets a little bit bigger and her belly pokes out!

Henry also wasn't having it (in the beginning). It's entirely our fault, honestly... We live in Southern California, less than 20 minutes away from the beach, and we don't go as often as we should. The last time we had a full beach experience was when we went to Aulani in October, but can you blame me? It was "winter" (lame excuse, I know), and I was the size of a whale (good excuse, I was pregnant with Gracie).

I feel like Henry's going to be more of a pool person, but once we sat him on the sand and gave him a few toys to play with, he was totally fine. From Lassig, we got Henry a simple rashguard. Perfect for matching with any of his swim trunks!

Now Owen, well, he was born to be in the water. He'll jump at the chance to take a bubble bath, go to the pool, play with his water table... This kid just loves the water.

My favorite thing that we ordered from Lassig was this beach poncho/towel. You can use it as a towel, but the boys mainly used it to keep warm and to protect themselves from the sun.

The boys had so much fun playing in the sand. They even dared to go with their dad at one point to play in the water; but the waves were so unpredictable yesterday, so that was short-lived. And even though it was beach day, we still got our donuts because...Sunday.

No donuts for you, Gracie Girl. Just milk!

It was a fun day, and we're so bummed that it's time to get back into our normal routine. But now that we have some sweet swimwear and beach ponchos, I see us going back to the beach a lot more frequently.

Here are the links to the Lassig products in this post:

Tankini Girls, Sailor Navy

Rashguard Short Sleeve Boys, White

Beach Poncho Boys, Submarine

You can use the code "PITC15" to get 15% off your purchase!

***Disclaimer: The products showcased in this post were gifted to us by Lassig. All opinions are 100% my own.***