Mini pies and fresh dinner rolls

So I recently had my gallbladder out and now my diet has changed. But inspite of that here are my most recent attempts at trying new recipes.

The dinner rolls turned out so amazing!!! Corey absolutely loved them and I don't think we will be wasting money on the store brand any more. This recipe makes far more than 16 rolls. I split my dough in half and froze the extra rolls i made so next time we want them we just pop them in the oven. I had to use a lot more flour than the recipe called for. I am not sure if it is because my house was very cold and it calls for a warm area for the dough to rise or what... either way definitely give these a try.

Next up are the pumpkin pie bites i made for a family dinner we are attending tonight. They were simple enough to make however again It made more than the recipe suggests it makes. I didn't have an exact 2 1/2in cookie cutter. I just used a mason jar we use for drinking to cut out the circles. They fit perfect in the mini muffin pan i just purchased at the Acme. I think you can use less than 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. I was able to do the swirly designs and all that and has a ton of chocolate left over. Corey is a chocolate nut however he was at work and I feel guilty just trowing it all away like that.

My finishing result, I went a little crazy with the chocolate topping :)

Halloween jar crafts

These are my finished product based on a pinterest find, mason jar Halloween decorations. I plan on making these to give out to family and friends with a battery powered tea light in them :)

These are the products I used. Acrylic Gloss paint in Green, Pumpkin, and Black. Make sure to read the labels that they are OK for glass. I used a white Sharpie paint marker. Halloween Googly Eyes. Martha Stewart Halloween Stencils. Elmer's Glue. 1 Neuman's Alfredo Sauce jar and 1 Classico Pasta Sauce jar.

This is the back of my pumpkin jar.

Now directions. I cleaned my jars out and let them sit outside for a few days just to make sure they were extra dry. So for the Frankenstein Jar i took my green paint and squeezed a decent amount into the bottom of the jar. Slowly turn the jar on its side and twist it to spread out the paint evenly. Start from the bottom and go up. Once you are about 1/2 inch from the grooves place your jar upside down on a piece of paper. Move it every so often so paint doesn't build up. For visual instructions just YouTube 'how to paint a mason jar'. honestly, that's how i figured it out...

So, once my paint was dry for Frankenstein I used a thin paint brush and dipped it in my black paint so I could give him a face. I painted on the hair later to cover up the sell by date. Once the black paint is dry use the Elmer glue and attach mismatched googly eyes so he looks put together.

For the pumpkin / trick or treat jar I just painted the inside pumpkin following my Frankenstein directions. After it was dry and all dripped out I taped the two stencils from the Martha Stewart Stencil set to the jar. I used the white sharpie paint pen and out lined/filled in the stencil. The paint pen worked wayyy better than a paint brush which i attempted on a different jar that didn't make it to this blog post based on it's poor quality. I do not blame the stencils or my painting abilities. The stencils are for flat surfaces and use of a sponge or rolling pin. Sharpie Paint Pens are your friend when it comes to these.

Honestly this was insanely cheap. No need to go buy mason jars when you can just slowly collect your pasta sauce jars and reuse them at no cost. The paint I found at Michaels Craft Store for .99 along with the stencils and googly eyes. I spent less than $15 total there and still have a good amount of paint. The stencils are reusable! Also I have figured out this paint peels off of glass so I am going to experiment painting some decorations on my windows with a sponge in a small area. If it comes up easy I will do a post on that as well. No more buying those sticky window clings that never last.

Update! These are a few more jars i made. These jars i bought from walmart :)

Imade