Four different types of hand pies were served for brunch with my brother yesterday. I made a double batch of dough earlier in the week. I rolled out, filled, and baked them when I had time. They are perfect for leftovers, the fillings can be almost anything. For brunch I made a ham and cheese, an apple sausage and cheese (just grated cheese and chopped meat, that's it) and a cinnamon apple. I cooked chopped apple, butter, and cinnamon sugar a little first. I also made a pies filled with a super thick caramelized mushroom cream sauce that I had made for a different dinner earlier in the week. These pie work best with no more than about 1/3 cup of filling—which is perfect for me because I like to save even the smallest amounts (too small for another full meal) perfect for a hand pie filling. The recipe for the dough I used is in the last post, but I made 8 pies with that recipe, not 10.
I like to bake them right way, then freeze. To serve these for brunch I took them out the night before and heated them for about 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven Sunday morning before serving. My brother was smitten. I noticed he took some home, too. The girls enjoyed these filling much more than the quiona ones I made first, but I like those, too.
I have starting knitting my fair isle hat, after two attempts failed—the yarn kept breaking! I am working from my stash and don't really know what I am using, but I just feel good using something up. However, breaking yarn is not cool. I am also stumped a new sewing project. I have too much clothing as it is. I love all my clothes and don't even get a chance to wear what I already have, which is why I love sewing for the girls, so maybe a quilt, next? Or something for Grammie.
Anyhoo, I am going to focus more on teaching the girls to sew, I think. They do a little already, (especially with Grammie) but now they are old enough to start and finish a project on their own, with help, and I think teaching how to actually finish something is huge. It's so satisfying to complete a project. A long project, something that takes more than a day. Sewing often is much faster than that, but you know what I mean. The two older girls just finished their first cross stitch and they are so proud. They started them over a year ago. I framed them and hung them right away. Seeing them focused on their little hoops with a needle and thread in the evenings breaks my heart in two with joy.
