Quick and Delicious Chicken Empanadas

My daughter needed 15 culture points for Spanish and asked for ideas.  I said I had always wanted to try making empanadas.  What did she think?  She loved the idea.  I wanted to find a recipe that would be super simple as we didn't have a lot of time to really cook from scratch... after school... after track practice and before bedtime on a school night.  It had to be good though.

I found a recipe from "Semi-Homemade" Sandra Lee.  It really seemed very easy and I had all the ingredients but the pie crust.

I went one step further than Sandra Lee and I bought premade pie crusts from Pillsbury.  My folks use them at Thanksgiving for their pies and they always tastes just fine.  I didn't have time to mix and roll out pie crusts

This recipe was surprisingly SO delicious we are definitely going to make them again.  It was a great mother/daughter cooking project seeing as my daughter doesn't like to cook. 

We had an assembly line.  She worked on making the filling.  While she was doing that I cut out the pie dough.  After the filling cooled I would fill the pie dough.  It was a messy affair that took finding a technique to keep the filling in as I pressed it closed.  After wetting the edge of dough using my teaspoon cookie scoop I would plop the filling on the dough.  Then I would fold the piece in mid air with the fold facing the ground.  That way I used gravity to keep the filling in the empanada as I pinch it closed.  I would first pinch the dough closest to the fold on each side.  This made a cup like structure that made all the difference in the world in keeping the filling in.  I then gently pressed up to the top of the half circle evenly on both sides.  I handed the empanada off to my daughter who then pressed the edge with a fork and forked the top of the little pastry.  She lined them on on a cookie sheets and baked them.  Using 2 packages of Pillsbury pie crust and my 2 1/2 inch cutter I got about 64 empanadas.

They were a big hit at school.  She got 25 points for her Spanish sentences about making empanadas and the class got to eat them.

Chicken Mini Empanadas (with my tweaks)

Ingredients

• 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts
• 1 11-ounce can white chicken meat, drained
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1 3-ounce can sliced ripe olives
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• All-purpose flour, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken, salsa and olives. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Cool slightly.

On a lightly flour-dusted surface, unroll the dough that has been brought up to about room temperature. Using a 3-inch-round cutter (my cutter was about 2 1/2 inches), cut out 36 circles, rerolling the scraps as needed. Place about 1 teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of each circle. Moisten the edges with water. Fold the circles in half and pinch to seal. Pierce the tops with a fork.

Place the empanadas on a baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot.

Lynne's note:  A couple of the empanadas didn't seal despite wetting the edge, pinching close and pressing edge with a fork.  It worked out OK as none of the filling came out.  We used these "ugly ones" to taste test.

Zingy Zig Zags is finally finished!

Nearly 3 years later I finally got this finished.  I had connected this project with watching football.  So, it took several football seasons to get it done.  I only worked on it while watching football.  Since the 49ers were doing so well this season I got very close to finishing.  When the 49ers didn't make it to the Super Bowl I decided to go ahead and watch it and work on my afghan.  Still not finished I then decided to keep working on it until it was done.

Fringe and all it's done!

The only bad thing about his afghan is it's from a book about using up your scrap yarn.  I had to buy more yarn to finish it.  I was 10 inches away from finishing it and I just couldn't stop it would have been too narrow.  I can't believe my "use up the scraps" afghan has caused more scraps.  I have lots of yarn left over.  Considering making another afghan from the "Scrap Afghan" pattern book or will it be creating a vicious circle?  I was lucky this time that the colors of yarn were still being sold.  I may not be so lucky next time.

The one family member who I think loves afghans the most couldn't wait to relax on my nearly made blanket.  Turned my back for a second and who was already laying on it?  Yes, Poodle-Doo couldn't resist a finely crafted homemade afghan.

New Recipe - Sticky Biscuits

We like to make Monkey Bread every now and then around here.  It's not complicated, but it is time consuming.  When I saw this recipe for using refrigerator biscuits it reminded me of Monkey Bread.  I had to give it a try.  The only minor problem I had was I only had 1/4 cup of pancake syrup.  I had considered using some pure maple syrup from the fridge.  Maybe combining it with some Caro syrup, so the maple flavor wouldn't be so strong.  In the end I thought there was so much butter and brown sugar it would be OK only using the 1/4 of syrup I had.

 I was right it was just as sticky as anyone would want it.

I love the toasted flavor of the nuts.  Personally I don't think they should be optional.  I used only almonds today, but pecans would be really good too.

I took the liberty of changing the name of the recipe.  It was originally called "Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring."  Check out her blog called "The Jones Way."  With a recipe this yummy, she's bound to have more great things over there.

Sticky Biscuits

2 small tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits
OR 1 1/2 tubes Pillsbury Grands! buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup pancake syrup (any brand you like
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional
1/4 cup chopped almonds, optional

Spray a fluted/Bundt pan with non-stick spray

Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired).

Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top. Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring. Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures.

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy.

** I ended up using 1 1/2 tubes of the Pillsbury Grands! refrigerator buttermilk biscuits (1 tube didn't seem like enough) and baked it for about 30-40 minutes.

So simple.

So delicious!

Free Flowers

I got a call that sweat shirts at a local store were on sale for $3.  My teenage daughter said, "I could use a couple more sweat shirts."  Off we went.  As we were leaving the store an employee was handing out flowers.  We really didn't know why, but thought it was a nice gesture.  The flowers were handed to my daughter, but when we got home she offered me one.  I reached into the bouquet to pull one out and out came a stem with 4 blossoms and 2 buds.  We both laughed that I reached for one and got 4.

I went to my china cabinet and got out a bud vase.  The flowers are just beautiful and sitting in my kitchen.  They make me smile every time I see them.  A little breath of spring in the winter time.

This morning I saw some flowers that made me laugh.  This is how a teenager takes care of their flowers.  I present "The Teenage Bud Vase."

Mini Chocolate Donuts

Invited a friend over early Sunday.  She asked, "Will there be coffee?"  I said, "Of course."  Then I got to thinking wouldn't mini donuts be fun.  Ever since I bought my pan from a yard sale a few months ago I've been having fun with it.  This time I made chocolate donuts.  These were made from a mix I got from King Arthur Flour.  I was already placing an order for some bread making items and thought I'd try the mix for fun.  It was VERY good.  Don't know that I'd spend the money to order it again when I can whip up a batch myself using this recipe.

Chocolate Mini Donuts

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup milk

2 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325˚F.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  In separate bowl mix eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick. 

Combine milk and butter.  Alternately combine egg mixture with flour mixture and mix until smooth and soft.

Spray pan lightly with cooking oil.  Fill with batter 2/3 full.  Bake 8 minutes.  Cool.  Carefully remove.  Repeat with rest of batter. 

What made these donuts extra delicious was the glaze.  Not your typical powdered sugar and water coating, but a glaze made with real chocolate chips.  It really had a rich chocolate taste to go with the richness of the donuts.

Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze. Yield: about ½ cup glaze.

OK these were so good I probably would order the mix again all by itself!  And I think what really made them special were the Valentine's Day Sprinkles.

Funny Craigslist "Free Yarn" Ad

Free Yarn (Sackets Harbor)

---

Date: 2012-01-25, 4:38PM EST
Reply to: sale-4n2pf-2817981201@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

I have three skeins of Red Heart Baby Clouds yarn that I am never, ever, ever going to use. They can be yours for free! Two of them are in the color "Pink Lemonade," which I'm sure you can imagine, and the third is "Peaceful Dreams," which is a blend of purple and blue and pink. They look adorable together for baby items for a little girl. This yarn is size 6 (Super Bulky), 100% acrylic, and machine wash and dry. Each skein is 6 oz/140 yards.

One caveat, though: This yarn is NOT good for knitting.

These skeins are taking up space in my small home and I want them gone, as they have already given me both heartache and finger-aches and now they are also making me feel guilty because I don't want to use them for anything ever again. This yarn will tangle and split and make you crazy. Your spouse might consider hauling you to the doctor for anger issues and depression if you try to use it as Red Heart intended. Perhaps it's possible to crochet with this yarn; I don't know since I can't crochet, but I suspect you'd run into the same problems as I did with knitting.

HOWEVER, there are still many uses to which you might be able to put this yarn if you want to (I don't!). For instance, you could:
1. Give it as a gift to a knitter whom you secretly hate.
2. Let your cat play with it.
3. Give it to your kids for arts and crafts - or just give it to your kids to play with and then have them untangle it afterwards. They will be occupied for hours.
4. Use it as stuffing for some other object (it is very fluffy and soft).
5. If you are moving, use it instead of bubble wrap for cushioning delicate objects.
6. Maybe you like a challenge? Embark upon the most painful knitting project you've ever done.
7. Use it in place of ribbons for gift wrapping.
8. Play a practical joke on someone by wrapping one of their valued possessions in this yarn. This will be a great joke as it will take ages to remove whatever you put in there.

You get the idea. There's lots of opportunity here if you are creative.

If you are planning to do something extra cool with this yarn and if I like you, I will even consider knitting something (NOT with this yarn!) just for you as a thank you for taking it off my hands.

Pickup only, please.

• Location: Sackets Harbor
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 2817981201

Crocheting!

That's what I've been doing lately.  I've been working on an afghan that has been hanging around for years now.  I don't know when I'll ever finish it.  I seem to bring it out in football season to work on it.  Maybe that's why it's taken so long.  The 49ers haven't been doing well until this year.  So, I've actually gotten more done on it this year.  I even watched the Steelers/Broncos game to see who would move on in the playoffs.  That's how much I'm enjoying football this year.

I just spread this afghan out on my bed to measure it and it's looking SO NICE.  The afghan now measures 29"X67".  According to the pattern in it's finished state it's supposed to be 45"X65".  So, I'm getting close.  I've wondered though if I should stop at 45" or just crochet until I run out of yarn.  Since it is a scrap yarn pattern I'm not relegated to stop at a certain point because of a pattern.  Intellectually, I'm thinking use up the yarn so as not to waste any.  Emotionally, I'm getting pretty darn tired of this project and just want it done.

This project can be viewed here.

I also made an adorable beret while I was recuperating from a cold last week.  I had a day where I just didn't want to leave my bed.  It required too much effort to breath.  On the other hand I was losing my mind laying in bed, so out came a hat pattern to crochet.  After several hours of "Anne of Green Gables" on DVD I came up with an adorable pink beret.  Unfortunately it was tiny.  The pattern was created by tiny Asian woman.  I don't know if it was sized to fit a tiny woman or it was my crocheting.  I'd bet on the latter.  Anyhow it will fit a toddler probably.  I don't have any around to try it on.  So, tried it on my daughter's bear.

For Christmas I got a crochet book by Twinkie Chan called "Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies."  This book has so many adorable food related patterns.   I bought yarn to make the gingerbread man scarf for myself and the pepperoni pizza slice scarf just because it's so darn cute!  I'm in the middle of the pizza scarf.  I have the cheese, sauce, crust and a couple pepperonis made.  Then sew it all together and I'll have a year to try and part with it at Christmas time.  If you have a minute check out Twinkie's blargh.  She makes some of the most adorable crocheted items.  Right now she has a give away of some of her hand made items.  Check it out here.

Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?  Yep working on my afghan again while I see if the 49ers can move on in the playoffs.  They are playing the Saints tomorrow and my dad says they don't have a prayer against Brees.  I'm going to remain optimistic.  Whether they win or lose my afghan will be a couple more inches wider.