THANKFUL

How is everyone feeling today? Still stuffed from yesterday's food events?

I'm feeling a little stuffy but not with food. My nose is stuffed up and my voice sounds like I'm a veteran smoker. Besides that, Thanksgiving was wonderful! Spent time with family, both immediate and extended, eating food and just enjoying each other's company. The girls had a blast playing with their cousins and the weather was chilly and holiday perfect. 

We started off the day with a 5k Turkey Trot

then headed home to cook and get ready for the big dinner event at my mom's house. 

At my mom's, the turkeys were cooked (one fried and one baked)

and then carved. 

After eating turkey, mac-n-cheese, sweet potato casserole, many different vegetable casseroles, brussel sprouts, stuffing, salad, and rolls, we washed all that down with cake, pie, cookies, and caramel popcorn (all homemade). Goodness :) 

After all food was devoured, we spent some time outside by the fire, going through the Black Friday ads (Sophia showed Grammy EVERYTHING she wanted) and watching the kids play outside. 

The perfect Thanksgiving....

I hope everyone enjoyed time with their family and/or friends! If you were working or did not get to spend Thanksgiving with family, I hope you had a great day anyways!

XOXO

 

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Last night we finally got some time to carve pumpkins. 

Is carving pumpkins supposed to be enjoyable?! I only say that because every year I get pumped, get all my tools together, and am so excited to carve a pumpkin. Every year I tell myself I'm going to carve something "COOL!" And every year it turns out to be something I wouldn't exactly call enjoyable. 

And why I don't remember that from a year ago, I don't know. I guess it's kind of like child birth...OK no relation but you get my point. 

So, this is how our carving went this year:

Husband came home with the biggest pumpkin he could find! It was quite large! Great start to the evening!

We laid out the newspaper, put the pumpkin in the middle, and gathered up all the carving tools that come in those packets with the carving outline pictures. Then we took a big knife (not the biggest one we had, but up there in ranks) and start to cut a big circle around the stem.

When the circle is almost complete, the big knife snaps in half. Yep, snaps...like it was made of plastic. Now you're probably thinking, "they have cheap knifes." But that's not the case. Although they may be like 6 years old, they are Calphalon brand. I was always under the impression that Calphalon is a good brand to buy. I think they're even Lifetime warranty...no idea. But whatever the case, they should not snap in half while carving a pumpkin.

Now, with the top almost completely cut out, Angelo takes his fist and just bashes the top IN the pumpkin. I explain to him that it's not supposed to be inside the pumpkin...so he takes a few minutes to wiggle it back out.

Yes! Time to get the hands dirty. I give Sophia the little shovel/scraper to gut the pumpkin. She doesn't want anything to do with it and refuses to put her hands inside. Nelpe just enjoyed looking into the big hole and banging on the outside of the pumpkin a couple times. They both run off to go play on the playground. 
I think the gutting is the most fun part of this whole thing, so I clean out the inside of the pumpkin, get my seeds all laid out on the newspaper, and at this time the girls want to go back inside, it's getting dark out, and we still have to eat dinner. So there the pumpkin stays, on the back porch, uncarved. Hopefully it will get carved by tomorrow!

Well, at least I got the seeds out! I love roasting the seeds! I roasted them this afternoon after letting the seeds dry out overnight on some paper towels. 

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

What you’ll need:
1-2 cups of pumpkin seeds
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
Salt

What you do:

Preheat oven to 325.
Make sure all your pumpkin seeds are washed and without any pumpkin residue.
Lay out pumpkin seeds on paper towel and blot to get all moisture off. (I left my laying out on paper towels over night to dry them out.)
In a skillet, heat up olive oil.
Pour in pumpkin seeds and sauté for about 3 minutes until lightly browned.
Drizzle honey over seeds in the skillet and stir, making sure all seeds are coated.
Transfer the seeds onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and roast for 20-30 minutes. With a spatula, move the seeds around at least once during the cooking time.
When fully cooked (you want them to be crispy), take out of oven, sprinkle with salt, and allow to cool.

Enjoy!

XOXO

10 Different Way to Decorate a Pumpkin

When I was a kid, I remember carving being the only way to "decorate" pumpkins.
Now there are so many different ways to decorate or carve a pumpkin it's berserk!

Pinterest, has failed us again. We no longer get away with buying one pumpkin to carve. We have to buy one to paint, one to stick stickers on, one to wrap up like a mummy, one to melt crayons on, one to pour glitter on, one to wrap in lace, one to write "Happy Fall or Happy Halloween!" on, one to glue buttons on, and last but not least...one to simply carve.

Here are my favorite ways to dress up our beloved pumpkins!

1. The Glitter Pumpkins













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2. The Painted Pumpkins

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3. The Mummy Pumpkin

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4. The Monogrammed Pumpkins

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5. The Character Pumpkins

6. The Crayon Drip Pumpkins 

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7. The Sports Themed Pumpkins 

Go Buckeyes! ;)

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8. The Black and White Pumpkins

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9. The Food Pumpkins

 Photo Source

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10. The Carved Pumpkins!!

Some of these took some serious talent!! Bravo to people who can pull some of these off, it's definitely no easy task!! I'm more of a "give the kids some paint and let them have at it" or just simply carve a jack-o-lantern face in the pumpkin. But I love to "Ooo and Ahh" over all these amazing pumpkin creations!!

XOXO

Bean & Corn Chili

Last night was another chili for dinner. I'm testing out different chili recipes for the Chili Bar I'm putting together for Nelp's 1st birthday party. I think I've found the two I'll be making and this one is a winner!! I picked this one because it had all things that Nelpe and Sophia enjoy; beans, corn, ground turkey, and topped with avocado. They couldn't get enough! 

What you’ll need:
2 tbsp butter
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
2 (15 oz) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can of Fire Roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 oz) can of corn, undrained
1 (4 oz) can of diced green chiles, undrained
1  (16 oz) jar of Salsa Verde (green kind)
1 ½ tsp chili powder


What you do:

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat.
Throw in chopped onions and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add ground turkey and cook fully until browned.
Add black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, corn, green chilies, and salsa.
Add chili powder
Bring to boil, and then reduce heat to simmer for minimum 15 minutes. I let mine simmer for about an hour.
Serve into bowls and top with your favorite toppings.
ENJOY!

XOXO

10 Halloween Must Haves

This year Halloween has consumed the whole month of October. It's slowly become one of those holidays that is celebrated all month long. We went to Halloween events last weekend for goodness sake! Am I supposed to buy 4 different costumes for each kid or just let them wear the same one every weekend?? Good thing we have plenty of princess dresses and other dress up clothes to use as costumes. I'm not one to buy more than one costume a year. It just seems over excessive and unnecessary, ALTHOUGH the costumes do get used all year round in our house. Heck, Sophia was just dressed up in her pirate costume we bought TWO years ago for Gasparilla. Money well spent.

Halloween is more than just about costumes though. You can't just stick on a costume and call it a day. You have to create the mood and get into the spirit a little bit! Or not...you're choice! ;)

10 Halloween Must Haves

1. Kid Costumes - for those who have kids. Goodness these are cute!

PotteryBarnKids

2. Adult Costumes - feeling festive?!

Spirit Halloween

3. Non Costumes - for the lazy or those seeking comfort over award winning

Target

4. Pumpkins - There are so many different ways to decorate a pumpkin! (Look for a post early next week!)

Pinterest

5. Music - Thriller never gets old. You should probably go ahead and learn the dance too

6. Beer - Pumpkin Beer to be exact. Gotta get it while it's here!

(photo source)

Guide to the Best and Worst Pumpkin Beer

7. Food - Get off Pinterest and just order some pizza (never fails), or just totally ignore me and spend hours making these.

Spiderweb Cupcakes

Dracula's Dentures

Mummy Dogs

Pumpkin Quesadillas

8. Shoes - If you're going trick or treating, you'll need a good pair of shoes and who doesn't want a pair of orange Nikes? Freshly Picked moccasins are always a must for the kids.

Foot Locker

Freshly Picked

9. Movies - You don't have to be scared out of your mind for it to be a good Halloween movie! (I hate scary movies) Hocus Pocus & The Addams Family are great for the whole family!

10. Ice Hand - last but certainly not least! If you're having people over you absolutely must put an ice hand in your punch. Consider your party/gathering a total fail if you don't. ;)

XOXO

Pumpkin French Toast

Good Mornin'! 

How's your Tuesday going so far? 

Feels a little like Monday over here because Sophia didn't have school yesterday. So I'm just getting into the routines of the work week.

Here are some Tuesday Thoughts for ya...

You know what I find a little odd? That "at home" peaceful feeling you get at random moments. It could be from a song, food, place, anything. 

This past Sunday we went to a fall festival at a church we used to call our “home church”. When I was walking through the festival, I thought about how much at home I felt. It’s where the hubs and I first started attending together about 10 years ago, it’s where my parents still attend,  it’s where we were baptized together, and it’s where we said our last goodbyes to my brother-in-law.

You see, ever since we moved further away we started attending different churches in search of “the one” to call home again. It’s been almost about 4 years and while we like other churches, the one we seemed to like the best is the furthest away. Go figure. So, I feel like we’re still in that “in-between” phase and just need to buckle down and make a decision. Sometimes its good to go back to the place you call home and sometimes its good to make change and form new relationships.

You know what else feels like home to me? French Toast ;) It’s just one of those good ol’ old fashion breakfast foods that makes me smile. Yes, food makes me smile.

I made this Pumpkin French Toast the other day and it was delicious. The hubs, an anti-pumpkin kind of guy, even enjoyed it!

Pumpkin French Toast 

What you’ll need:
6 pieces of whole wheat or any type of sandwich bread
3 eggs
½ cup almond milk
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
¾ cup pumpkin puree
(Butter, Powdered sugar, and maple syrup for serving)

What you do:
In a bowl,  whisk together eggs, milk, pumpkin spice, and pumpkin puree until smooth.
Dip each side of piece of bread and place on a hot, greased skillet.
Flip after 1 – 2 minutes.
Repeat with each piece of bread.
Serve with butter, powdered sugar, and maple syrup.

ENJOY!

XOXO

Sweet Potato Chili

The weather has finally cooled down a bit here on this side of Florida. It'll be in the low 70s in the morning, but then jump up to high 80s by afternoon. (Just because I wrote that, it will probably be back in the 90s tomorrow.)

It's not THAT much cooler, but that little tease of cool weather makes me want to make some good ol' soup, curl up next to a fire in a big sweatshirt. But since I don't see any bonfires in my future for another month or two, I'll settle with a big bowl of chili.

This chili was exactly what I was hungry for. Warm comfort food with a hint of sweetness from the potatoes. 

I don't really like to add much spicy seasonings to my cooking these days since I have little mouths to feed. If you wanted the chili more spicy, you could definitely add a little bit of cayenne pepper to it. 

Sweet Potato Chili

What you’ll need:
1 lb ground turkey
EVOO
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can Rotel (Diced tomatoes with green chilies) Do not drain
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
3 cups chicken broth

What you do:
Cook ground turkey on skillet over medium high heat. Set aside.
In a large pot, heat EVOO over medium high heat. Add in sweet potato, onion, and green pepper.
Sauté until onion softens (about 7 minutes)
Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
Add in rotel, black beans, ground turkey, and broth.
Bring to boil and then turn down heat to simmer. Let simmer for minimum 1 hour. (I let mine simmer for about 3 hours)
Top with choice of toppings.
ENJOY!

We topped ours with Greek yogurt and avocado.Other good toppings would be sour cream, cheese, green onions, and fritos!

XOXO

Fall Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

Happy Friday!! 
How is your morning going? Mine has been full of heavenly Fall goodness since I baked some delicious muffins yesterday to eat with my coffee this morning. 

Seriously, these muffins are like a Fall explosion in every bite. Oatmeal, pumpkin, pecans, craisins, and chocolate...what else do you need?! Not much....

Fall Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins 

What you’ll need: (Makes 12 muffins)
1 ¾ cups old fashion oats
¼ cup oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup pecans
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup craisins or raisins

1 can pumpkin puree
1/3 cup egg whites
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup almond milk


What you do:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl mix together all dry ingredients. (Oats to craisins)
In a smaller bowl, mix together rest of ingredients.
Pour pumpkin mixture into oats mixture, and stir to combine.
Let batter sit and thicken for 5 minutes.
Grease up a your muffin pan with cooking spray or coconut oil.
Fill muffin pans almost completely full with batter. (The muffins will not rise much)
Bake for 30 -35 minutes or until tester knife comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes.
Store in airtight container. 

ENJOY!

XOXO

Pumpkin Overload

Good Morning!

Now that we're over the initial buzz of "IT'S OCTOBER!!!", it's time to calm down and enjoy the season of pumpkin and apples. But first I want to tell you a little secret.  This whole, making everything pumpkin flavored thing is getting a little out of hand for me. While some things are delicious, there's been quiet a few Pumpkin flavored things that I've spit out (not in public). 

Look at this Publix advertisement, and hang your head in disbelief with me. (I know some of you are probably thinking, "Wow all that looks amazing!")

Everything looks OK until you see the Pumpkin pasta sauce...Why ruin pasta sauce like that? 

Another food that shouldn't be ruined with pumpkin is ice cream. The other day I ordered a cup of Baskin Robin's Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream...just take my advice and don't get it. I took 2 bites and trashed it. Since then, I've received 4 emails from local frozen yogurt shops advertising their "Flavor of the Month" as Pumpkin something. Pumpkin spice, pumpkin harvest...call it whatever you want, I'm not trying it. 

At this point, you're probably wondering what pumpkin things I do enjoy. Well I really enjoy Pumpkin Pie, THIS recipe and THIS recipe. You should try them, they do not disappoint! 

So with all the pumpkin complaining, I'm going to try and start using more apples in recipes, because in my head, Apple > Pumpkin. 

I hope you're having a glorious Fall October morning! (Kind of feels the same as last week all the way back in September huh?)

XOXO

Fall Bucket List

Hi guys! Can you really believe its October?! I mean, I know everyone and their mom is saying that, but really! We’re in the fourth quarter of 2014! Let’s all pretend we’re in a cool football movie and the fourth quarter is what we live for! It’s time to shine peeps! J  

What goals do you want to accomplish before the New Year? If you have a few realistic goals left pending for the year, it’s time to really bunker down and get them done!

I have a few and I think these next couple months are going to be absolutely fantastic! There’s no other kind of attitude than positive round’ here.

As I peel back September’s page off my calendar, and start writing down everything that’s happening in October, it’s safe to say it feels like there’s just never enough time…and it only gets busier in November and December. Holidays & parties galore on the horizon. A little overwhelming eh? No worries. Whatever is on your calendar, don't forget to just enjoy the season that is Fall. Everything is so pretty this time of year!

I found this Fall Bucket List on PopSugar.com and wanted to share it. 

Some may not be realistic for my fellow Florida people. Piles of leaves and crisp Fall air may be hard to find, and wearing Uggs in Florida is just silly (yeah I'm talking to you!),  but I'd like to try and mark as many as I can off this list.

Cheers to a wonderful Fall!! 

XOXO