Baby Step Crafting

I very rarely even start a craft on my own, let alone finish one, but after seeing so many awesome Christmas decorations my friends have been making, I decided to try an easy one, a very easy one.

I have been motivated by a website that I mentioned before Dollar Store Crafts to try to do a craft with supplies from the dollar store. So I took off to Dollar Tree, the dollar store in my town, with a few ideas in my head. I hoped to find wooden blocks for a few different crafts, but they didn't have any. I did find these styrofoam blocks though and decided I'd use them for the Christmas countdown blocks that I've seen. I had the foam brush and the black paint (which I found on sale for 39 cents at JoAnn's yesterday). I didn't buy the scrapbook paper at the dollar store, but they might have some there. Or if you're like me, you have a bunch at home already.

I painted them black and let them dry. Then I tore scrapbook paper (or you could cut them into squares) and Mod Podged them on. I don't have a vinyl machine and didn't find cheap stickers of the numbers I needed so I just printed them from my computer. I used the Victorian font. Make sure that the font you use has a 6 that you can turn upside to use as a 9. Then Mod Podge those on too. Easy peasy!!!

One of the blocks needs to have these numbers: 0,1,2,3,4,5

And the other block has these numbers: 0,1,2,6,7,8

I shopped for, started and finished a craft all by myself. It's a basic craft that a child could do, but it sure felt good to see the finished product. I have a couple of other crafts I will be doing soon and I can't wait.

Breakfast Empanaditas

Since the recipe I’m posting today is one that I created, I figured I’d include these other two items I created in the same post. Of course, they are very easy crafts that I just painted and stuck stuff on, stuff like that, since other people cut the wood and the metal, but I normally don’t do any crafts so I am was glad to make them anyway. Yay for Super Saturdays! Now my children all want me to do their names with blocks. Alex wants an Oriental background (dragons or something like that).

On to the recipe-- I made up this recipe many, many years ago after I had eaten a few regular empanadas and liked them. Empanadas are great because you can hold ‘em in your hand and eat on the go. Maybe that’s why there are versions of the same sort of food from many countries throughout the world. For mine, I put together a whole bunch of breakfast foods and stuffed them in a biscuit. Easy to make, easy to eat. I’ve made these on Christmas Eve to warm up on Christmas morning since I don’t want to take the time to make a whole breakfast, but I don’t want us all eating just sugar either.

I’ve had many requests for this recipe over the years and many people are surprised that I use refrigerated biscuits for the dough. You can use just one biscuit per empanadita to make them small or flatten two together for a slightly bigger one. Elisa thinks you should only use one since I call them “empanaditas” which means “small empanada”. The kids helped me make them this time and we were able to throw them together quickly. I usually use egg white on top, but since I had egg yolks left over from making meringues, I just used the yolks, leaving the tops very yellow—quite pretty according to Sabrina, who brushed them on.

I admit that I don’t really measure anything. I just throw the ingredients together. Of course, you can add or subtract your favorite veggies. And you don’t have to use sausage at all.

Breakfast Empanaditas

½ c. breakfast sausage
1 med. potato, grated
1 green onion, chopped
3 eggs
1/3 c. water
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 t. parsley
¼ c. black olives, chopped
1 c. cheddar cheese
3 pkg. refrigerated biscuits
1 egg white, whisked
Poppy seeds, optional

Preheat oven to 425º. Coat a heated skillet with just a thin layer of oil and heat. When oil is hot, brown sausage, then remove and set aside in medium bowl. In oil remaining in skillet, brown potato together with green onion, stirring occasionally. Add to sausage. Beat eggs together with water and parsley. Make scrambled eggs, then add them to bowl along with the salt and pepper and olives.

Open biscuit packages. Take individual biscuits and flatten so they are thinner and larger circles, being careful not to tear dough. Holding a biscuit in one hand, sprinkle middle only with cheese and then a bit of filling. Fold dough in half and press edges with fingers or a fork. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with each biscuit. Beat the egg white and brush onto tops only of empanaditas. Sprinkle tops with poppy seeds, if desired. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes.

The two rows on the left side are made with one biscuit each and the two rows on the right were with two biscuits each.