Foodie Friday: Homemade Doughnuts, fast!

Warm doughnuts are such a treat in the morning. It's just too bad that in the morning the line at the "DONUT" shop is always long and by the time you get your doughnuts home they aren't warm anymore. And let's face it, reheating those bad boys is just NOT the same thing. So here is my solution: Doughnuts made at home, from Grand's biscuits.

Sound too good to be true? Well it's not. It is too true to be good, because I will now be wanting to make these all the time! I found this originally at Little Bit Funky via Pinterest and within 20 minutes my fiance and I were cooking them up as a midnight stack. Shh, don't tell anyone!

So here is how you make these magnificent little treats.

You will need:

• Grand's Homestyle Buttermilk biscuits (I used flaky layers because it was all I had. It worked fine, but Homestyle is definitely preferred)
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• Cinnamon
• Granulated sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Tool to cut holes in doughnut 

1. Start by pouring vegetable oil into a skillet so that it is about 1/2" deep
2. While the oil is heating up, use a tool like a small cookie cutter or cupcake corer (that was my weapon of choice) to cut the holes in the center of the doughnuts

3. Prepare a paper towel lined plate, pan, or even counter on which to place cooked doughnuts
4. Once the oil is hot enough (steaming and beginning to lightly bubble), place doughnut in oil and cook on one side until golden brown. Then flip with tongs and do other side

5. Remove doughnut and place on paper towel
6. Repeat for all doughnuts
7. Now melt your butter in the microwave
8. In a pie pan or on a large plate, mix your cinnamon sugar together. I didn't measure, just started with some sugar and gradually mixed in cinnamon

9. Lightly coat a doughnut with butter (preferably with a basting brush) and the roll in the cinnamon sugar mix until covered
10. Repeat for all doughnuts
11. Enjoy

Other ideas:

• Try skipping the cinnamon sugar and attempt some chocolate icing, powdered sugar, or even some toasted coconut!
• Cook your doughnut holes too for a pop-able snack!

Craft Tuesday: Putting your photo on canvas!

Using the printing on tissue paper method we learned last week, we can put a picture on canvas!

It's simple, but a little tricky, and it doesn't turn our perfect.  My tissue paper ended up a bit wrinkled, but it's tough to tell from far away. I am thinking that this project would have been a lot better had the picture been print on FABRIC, or if I used a spray-on adhesive and then Mod-Podged over it. So if you have spray on adhesive on hand I would HIGHLY suggest that if you are using tissue paper. If you are clever enough to print on fabric then go for that!

Here is how I did it! Let's go!

You will need:
Canvas
Tissue paper with picture printed on it
Matte Mod Modge
1 sheet of 12x12 scrapbooking paper to cover edges (optional)
Foam brush

Once you have printed your picture on tissue paper and cut it out, lay it on your canvas to figure out how it fits best. My picture was the same size of my canvas, so I didn't have to mark a border or anything. Made it much simpler.

Next, using your foam brush, cover the main surface of your canvas with a light coat of Mod Podge and very carefully lay your tissue paper on. This is the tricky part. Once it's on there it's tough to move without ripping the tissue paper (I found this out the hard way). Gently smooth out any wrinkles with your finger tips, or even lightly use a credit card light a squeegee.

Once your picture is in place, lightly coat one edge of canvas in Mod Podge and place a strip of scrapbooking paper cut to the appropriate size. This heavier paper will be easier to move into place without it tearing.

Let your piece dry completely and then do 2-3 top coats of Mod Podge for a nice, finished look. And you're done!!

I am planning on doing this with not only pictures I've taken, but any picture of art I find online. What a great way to make your own affordable canvas prints!

Foodie Friday: Easy Crescent Roll Italian Pie

This week we have another easy meal! Using a few basic ingredients, I made an easy Crescent Roll Italian Meat Pie! I started at 8 exactly and served the plates at 8:50 (after it had cooled). So simple, and it was done in one pot on the stove and one pie dish in the oven. I was surprised how delicious it was! Serve it up with some steamed veggies and you have yourself a marvelous meal.

This recipe makes one pie that has 8 slices. Adults will probably want two slices while the kids should be filled with one. You can always add a little more meat if you'd like (if you have a "deep dish" pie pan) or you can put veggies directly in the filling to make it more substantial. I would say this dish serves 4-6, depending on their appetites!

You will need:
1lb lean ground beef
1 8-pack Crescent rolls (I used Big & Buttery)
1/2 tbsp parsley*
1/2 tbsp thyme*
1/2 tbsp basil*
A little less than 1/2 tbsp oregano*
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan

*You may substitute seasoning for ~2 tbsp Italian seasoning and 1-2 medium cloves of garlic

1. Preheat your oven to 375F
2. In a 10" skillet, begin cooking ground beef on medium-high heat
3. Add in your seasoning, stir and continue to cook beef on medium heat for 5 minutes
4. Stir in can of tomato paste and one can of water
5. Allow beef to simmer for another 5 minutes, or until done

6. Pour beef mixture into ungreased pie pan
7. Top with mozzarella and half of parmesan cheeses
8. Open your crescent rolls, and before placing each one on, roll the widest end some so that it creates a "crust" when you place it on
9. As you place the rolls on, you can rip of the tapered ends and use them to fill the gaps in between the crescent rolls near the "crust" (see below)

10. After all of your crescent rolls have been placed, pinch together the rolled end of the dough
11. Sprinkle the rest of your parmesan cheese on top of the crescent roll dough
12. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crescent rolls are done and the middle is piping hot
13. Let cool 5 minutes before serving

Craft Tuesday: How to Print on Tissue Paper

Next week I will be using this method for my craft, so I thought I would spread it out to two weeks and really give you a good idea of HOW to print on tissue paper!

It's simple and shouldn't give you any problems, if you do it correctly. Paper jams with tissue paper (I have heard) can be very bad.

You will need:

• Inkjet printer
• Tissue paper
• Regular printer paper
• Scotch tape
• Scissors

First you have to pick out the picture or image you would like to print, and the size which you will need to print. I chose a picture of my son and printed a 12x12. Since my printer is an ordinary inkjet I could not print a single 12x12 image. Using a photo editing software (I used Photoshop, but a very simple one like Preview will work just as well), I divided my picture into sections using a normal grid pattern. My picture was cropped down to 4 6x6 squares, and I scaled them down to 90% (in the printer options when you click "print") when I printed them so that I could do 2 to a page.

Before being ironed

When you have finished picking and preparing your image, we will need to prepare the tissue paper! The paper I had was a bit wrinkled so I decided to smooth it out with an iron. Simply turn your iron on to a medium setting, place your tissue paper on your ironing surface and cover it with a light cloth. I opted for a thin, clean hand towel.  Iron the tissue paper on one side and then flip it over and iron the other side. This may not get out all the big creases, but it will definitely help your picture print more smoothly.

After being ironed

Next, place your tissue paper glossy side up on a table. The matte side of the tissue paper will be the side that will be exposed and printed on. Lay your paper on the tissue and cut around it leaving a border of at least 1" on all sides. Begin folding these borders over, creating neat creases, and taping the tissue tightly to the printer paper. I used 4-6 small pieces of scotch tape on each side.

After your edges are secured, fold the corners in tape them down completely to prevent paper jams.

Corners taped down

Ta-dah! Your paper is ready to print on! Remove all other paper from your printer and place this paper in so that when it feeds in the image is printed on the tissue paper.

After your image is printed, let the ink dry. Then cut it out while it is still taped onto the printer paper. This makes it MUCH easier to cut evenly without tearing the tissue paper. I only got half of my image done, sadly, as I ran out of scotch tape. But you will see the whole thing in next week's craft!

What to do with these tissue paper images? Next week I will be putting this one on a canvas. You can put them on the inside of mason jars or transfer the image onto a wooden sign. What do you like doing with your tissue paper prints? Share your crafts and be featured on Let's Brag Thursday!