Craft A Week #30 Dinosaur Planter

It is yard sale season here in Central PA (YAY!)  This is my all time favorite time! My mom Dolly Mama insists our area has the best yard sales. I do agree that we have fantastic sales with high quality materials at super cheap prices. It really is a wonderful treasure hunt every Friday and/or Saturday. I especially love the neighborhood sales so I get a good walk in while bargain hunting.

Every season I make a list of things to look for while I go saleing. One of the things on my list this year is plastic dinosaurs to transform into little planters.  (This is also something I found on Pinterest).   I found the following dinosaur and it only cost me a quarter!

Sorry I didn't take a before picture but all I did was give the plastic dinosaur to my son-in-law Dan to drill a opening in the top. The opening was about 3"x 1.5".  The dinosaur is hollow on the inside so I just dumped some potting soil into the opening. I made sure to tap it down so there were no air pockets. 

I then took some succulent clippings from another planter and stuck in the dirt. You can dip the ends of the plants into Root Grow if you have it. I couldn't find mine and it was starting to rain so I just stuck the plantings in the dirt.

Isn't s/he adorable?!  I found a stegosaurus this weekend and sent it on to Dan to cut the hole in that one too. I'd really like to find some bigger dinosaurs. I think they will look cute as a display on the patio.  I want to find more so I can give as a gift to my dear friend D. I know she will love them!

This really was a super simple craft! (Especially because I didn't even have to cut the hole).

Happy Crafting

Flax Seed Pizza Crust

Recently I decided to add flax seed to my diet. Sometimes I have digestive issues and flax seed is really good for that.  Flax seed is a good source of Omega-3's and super high in fiber.  WebMD has a good overview of the benefits of flax seed, located here:  WebMD flax seed.

I found a recipe for flax seed pizza crust on Yummly.  I know, it probably doesn't sound good but trust me, it was tasty.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flax seed meal 2 tsps baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp spices (italian) 1 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp onion (granulated)                          1 tbsp splenda (sugar substitute)                           3 tbsps oil                           3 eggs                           1/2 cup water

Note:  To make flax seed meal, just grind up whole flax seed in a mini grinder. My grinder is small so I had to do this is several small batches.  You can get flax seed at most grocery stores, WalMart, or I got this on sale at Big Lots and was the usually expensive Old Mill Brand.

The photo to the right is what the flax seed looks like after being ground.  It becomes like a meal.  Now you just follow the instructions below.

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix dry ingredients together.
Mix wet ingredients together, add to dry, and mix well.
Let sit for 5 minutes to thicken up.
Spread on pan (I put a greased parchment paper down on the pan first and spread mixture on that.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until cooked through, then add toppings and cook until they are done.

There was no need to get out the roller to put this into the pan. I just dropped the crust on the prepared pan and smoothed with my fingers.  Just make sure it is relatively even so it bakes even. At this stage, put the untopped crust in the oven for 15-18 minutes.

Then take out of oven and add your favorite toppings.  I topped mine in the following order:  spinach pesto (recipe below); home made bruchetta from last summers tomatoes to add some color; cut up artichokes; an array of cheeses: feta, sharp cheddar and regular cheddar. 

I served the pizza with grilled zucchini.  Here it is plated:

 

My verdict is that it was pretty tasty.  It does have a very different taste from pizza made from a flour dough (this is nuttier and of grainy texture).  I thought it was good but my daughter Breanna didn't like it. She didn't like the texture of the crust and wasn't so keen on the spinach pesto either.  Clearly, this isn't for everyone.

Given the super good nutrient qualities of flax seed I will keep trying other recipes that incorporate that ingredient. I've seen other recipes (like breads) so I will just keep experimenting.

Spinach Pesto Recipe

On Sunday I was hungry for pizza and wanted to try out a recipe for pizza crust made from flax meal (see the next post).  My favoite pizza is basil pesto, artichokes and feta cheese. sadly, I didn't have any jarred pesto so I had to improvise.  I've been on a spinach kick lately; someties for dinner I will saute spinach and roasted garlic and just have that for dinner.  Yummy and good for you at the same time. Can't beat that!

I went on a search for an alternative to basil pesto.  I found the following recipe for spinach pesto. It is made the same way you would make basil pesto.  Another easy recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups washed, torn spinach leaves, stems removed, well packed. This was 2 bags of spinach
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Place a few spinach leaves, garlic, pine nuts, basil and a little oil in blender or food processor container. Cover and puree until leaves begin to look crushed. Continue adding spinach leaves a few at a time with small amounts of oil to blender, using a rubber spatula to help to combine pureed mixture. Add Parmesan cheese and 1/8 tsp. salt. Cover and process until spinach pesto mixture is smooth.

I added a little more salt and basil to this recipe. I also found it tasted much better after it sat in the refrigerator for a bit.  Granted, it's not basil and doesn't have that taste but it's not bad and serves as a stand in.

The recipe was originally posted on About.com's Southern Food.