Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

It's pumpkin season!!!  While technically you can make pumpkin dishes anytime of year, the fall is the perfect time for them!  I have a few favorites I'll be sharing with you over the next several weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.  I'd love to hear your favorites too...share with me in the comments!

We went to a pumpkin carving event at a local park yesterday.  They already have the pumpkins cleaned out and ready for you to carve.  The idea is for people to come and carve a pumpkin, leave it there, then come back the next weekend where they set them up in the park and have them lit!  It really is a fun time. 

Well, we had such a good time, we decided to come home and carve our own.  My daughter LOVED cleaning out the pumpkin and gave me the seeds to roast.  

So first fun treat....roasted pumpkin seeds. 

I started by putting the seeds in a colander and thoroughly rinsing them.  Use your hands to separate them while the water is running over them.  This helps loosen up any pumpkin guts still attached.  Then I spread them out on a baking sheet and let them dry out overnight. 

We decided to make ours sweet.  Here is the recipe we used...

1.5 cups fresh pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Toss seeds in a bowl with olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch or 2 of salt.  Spread out evenly onto a greased baking sheet. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring seeds halfway. 

Let seeds cool and then store in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

Now you have a cute, carved pumpkin and a yummy treat!

Big things in a small town...{day trip}

Summer is flying by and we wanted to take a quick family trip before the back to school busyness begins.  We had heard about a place not far from us that had some of the world's largest roadside attractions so we decided to check it out!  Casey, IL is just over 2 hours east of Springfield.  Big things in a small town is the tagline of this quaint little place.

We got into town around lunch and headed straight for Richards Farms to eat.  It is a classic American style restaurant in an old 1930's barn.  They offer a hot bar filled with mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, mac & cheese, fish cakes, BBQ pork, fried chicken, chicken livers, bread pudding, apple crisp, etc.  Plus they have a salad bar, bread station and a variety of soups.  You can also order off the menu.  The food was wonderful, especially the homemade bread!  They had whipped butter, cinnamon/sugar butter, apple butter and strawberry spread toppings to choose from.  After eating you can walk around the grounds, explore the flower gardens, see the chickens and goats out back and view the world's largest pitchfork!

Most of the world's largest items are right along Main Street in downtown Casey.  You can park and walk up and down the street, viewing the large attractions and stopping in the unique and interesting shops.  Our favorite was the world's largest mailbox!  You could actually walk up inside of it.  The red flag even rises when letters are submitted! 

If you walk back behind the mailbox, you can see the world's largest wooden shoes inside the Casey Candy Depot.  Pick up a sweet treat after you view this fun attraction!  There is also an ice cream shop beside the mailbox if you'd like to satisfy your sweets craving with that instead.  ;)

Just down the street you can view the world's largest wind chime and rocking chair.  They are also working on more items and getting them world record certified.  There is a teeter totter currently being built across from the wind chime. 

There are also other large items throughout the town that aren't necessarily world's largest but just big!  My favorite was this giant pencil!  I love writing utensils, so of course I was getting a pic! 

My daughter loved the large bird cage.  You could open the door, go in, and swing on the perch!  We loved all the interactive elements of these attractions. 

We thoroughly enjoyed this day trip over to Casey and would recommend checking it out for yourself.  Or if you aren't near Illinois,  I encourage you to research your area and discover an interesting place within a few hours and plan a visit!  

Inexpensive {Disney Souvenir}

When we were in Disneyland this past November we took advantage of a fun experience offered on Main Street....Cut Paper Silhouettes!  There is a little shop on Main Street where a talented cast member works their magic to cut out a paper silhouette of the person of your choosing.  These are offered at Magic Kingdom in Florida also.   

The gentlemen we had worked so fast, it was amazing!  He cuts out two at a time, so you get mirrored images, 2 for the price of one!  This is such a wonderful deal.  The price is just 9.99 for each face in the picture.  Then you have the option of buying frames if you'd like.  We just opted to frame them ourselves at home.

There is not usually a long line and this is such a fun inexpensive souvenir to have from Disney.  I would definitely recommend checking it out the next time you are visiting Disney World or Land!

I just love having this sweet silhouette on display in our home to remind us of the memories we had while in Disneyland!

A Pirate's Adventure

In August we spent a few days at the beach and decided to do one day at Disney World.  We split our time between Magic Kingdom and Epcot.  All of our fast passes were for later in the day at Epcot, so we spent the morning exploring Magic Kingdom and dodging rain drops!  

We rode several rides but once the rain picked up most of the outdoor rides were shut down, which made the other ride lines longer!  This was a great time for A Pirate's Adventure, an interactive experience where you can help Captain Jack Sparrow find the treasures hidden around Adventureland.  We have done this a few times before and Little Bit is a big fan of completing these missions!

You'll start your journey at  A Pirate's Adventure building just beyond the Pirates of the Caribbean ride on the outskirts of Adventureland.  You will use your magic band or park ticket to start your adventure, also known as your "talisman".  Pick up your map and head to the first clue.  

The game takes you to different areas around Adventureland that you may of not noticed before.  It is a great way to spend some time letting your kiddos, or even just yourself, explore and see the land come to life.  Each quest takes about 15 minutes if you don't have to wait on any other treasure hunters!  But you can spend as much or little time on this experience as you choose.  It is a great way to spend those extra few minutes you have between fast passes or dining reservations.

Once you complete a map, go back to the outpost and pick up your treasure finder card.  At this point you can be done hunting or start another mission.  If you are brave enough to finish all 5 maps you will get 5 treasure finder cards plus a bonus card for completing the set!

Once you complete at least 3 of the 5 missions you will receive Pirates of the Caribbean Fast Passes for each member in your party!  This was an added bonus we didn't know about ahead of time!  Pirates of the Caribbean ride is a must do in our book and the line can get quite lengthy.  So this was a win, win!

Avengers prize pack....enter now!

The second Avengers movie is hitting theaters on May 1st and I'm partnering with Meijer to celebrate the launch!  If you are a super hero fan, chances are you love the Avengers.  So keep reading to find out how to score an awesome Avengers prize pack!

Avengers-themed products are currently on the shelves at Meijer.  Kellogg’s, Nestle, and Dr. Pepper are all offering limited edition Avengers: Age of Ultron packages for products like Corn Flakes, Cheez-Its and fruit snacks.  Plus, check out Meijer mPerks where you can clip some coupons for extra savings on Avengers merchandise.

I created 2 movie night snacks that would be great for munching while watching the first Avengers movie, whether it is your first viewing or you just need a refresher before the second one is released.  Little Bit had fun helping with the first snack...we call it Movie Mix.

The ingredients we used were Skinny Pop popcorn, Meijer alphabet shaped pretzels, raisins and Avengers Cheez-Its & fruit snacks.  We had fun finding letter pretzels to spell out Avengers and adding them to our mix.  It would also be fun to find letters to spell all the super hero's names! 

For our individual bowls we used a half cup each of popcorn and Cheez-its.  {I think Little Bit added more Cheez-its to hers...She loves them!} Then we added our special pretzel letters, a packet of fruit snacks and small box of raisins to each bowl.

Just toss with a spoon or your hand and enjoy with a yummy Avengers Dr. Pepper!  I just love the combo of the Cheez-its, pretzel and popcorn.  So much salty goodness!!!

Little Bit's favorite is Captain America, so I decided to make a fruit tray using his shield as my inspiration.  I started by washing and slicing my strawberries.  Then I laid them around the edge of the plate, mixing in some grapes as well.  Then I added a ring of mini marshmallows.  In the center of the "shield" I added some fruit dip, with an "A" for Avengers cut from a strawberry!

Fruit Dip
Ingredients:
8 oz. vanilla yogurt
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Generous squirt of whipped topping

Directions:
Mix ingredients together until everything is incorporated.  Enjoy eating with your favorite fruit and marshmallows!

Now who's ready to win an Avengers prize pack?!

Everything in these 2 pics is up for grabs.....Avengers 1 DVD, Avengers themed cereals & fruit snacks, 2 t-shirts, Hulk action figure, large plush Captain America, Hulk & Iron Man toys and a fleece blanket! 

Just leave me a comment letting me know your favorite Avengers character!  Giveaway will end Sunday, April 26th and I will announce the winner on Monday!  

Thanks to Meijer for sponsoring this giveaway.  All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

What a wonderful time of year!   I just love Christmas, celebrating Jesus and retelling the story of his birth, singing hymns at church and Christmas songs on the radio!   I also love getting to see family and friends that we don't see very often. 

Even though the holiday itself is over in the blink of an eye,  I hope you are enjoying these days after to reflect on the past year and what lies ahead in 2015. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my family to yours!

Christmas at Disney

I know I haven't posted for awhile but I'm still here.  Life just happens and blogging gets pushed aside.  I wanted to share some pics from our recent trip to Florida.  

This is the first time we have visited Disney during the Christmas season.  We LOVED it!  If you are thinking of planning a trip I highly recommend this time of year.  One stop we made were the streets of New York in Hollywood Studios for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights....amazing!!!

This was also the first time we attended a special party night put on at the Magic Kingdom.  We attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.  There are special characters and Christmas costumes just for this event.  Free hot chocolate and cookies!  The Jungle Cruise is transformed to the Jingle Cruise.  A special Christmas parade.

Seeing the seven dwarfs was top on our list!  The line gets extremely long for them so we jumped in early and were visiting with them in no time!  So worth the wait....they are too cute!

Elsa & Anna were also top on the list of must sees.  We had met Anna when we were in Disneyland in May.  BUT Elsa is Little Bit's favorite so we waited in yet another line.  The joy on her face when meeting them was worth it though! 

One of my favorites was watching the lighting of the castle.  Isn't this just breathtaking?! 

I'm already dreaming of the next Disney adventure! ;)

Meeting {Anna}!

Little Bit is a tad Frozen crazy....she LOVES the movie, soundtrack, toys, books and any Frozen related item in between!  So one thing on her list for Disneyland was to see Anna & Elsa, the Frozen princesses.  The lines are over 3 hours long people!!!  There is no fastpass for this in California. :(

But wonderful hubby had a plan to get to Disney gates super early and see how close we could get to the front of line.  Little Bit and I followed behind a bit later and met up with him in line.  His efforts paid off and we were 7th in line at park open to see the much anticipated princesses! 

Unfortunately Elsa was not meeting.  I guess she was off freezing something that morning...lol!  She is Little Bits favorite and she was a bit bummed but LOVED seeing Anna.  Anna is my favorite!

Little Bit was wearing her favorite Elsa shirt and carrying her new doll!  One side is Anna, then flip her over and you find...

 

Elsa!  One tip...when you see something Frozen related...buy it!  We saw this first thing and thought we would wait a bit.  She was set that this was the souvenir she wanted for the trip.  So the hubs went and bought it around lunch.  Lucky thing cause by that evening they were sold out!

Cars Land!

I mentioned last week that our trip to California was wonderful.  Especially our visit to Disney!  Over the next few weeks I thought I'd share some of the highlights. 

We splurged this time and got the PhotoPass+ and it did not disappoint.  Not only do you get pics that photographers around the park take of you, you also get ride photos and character dining photos!  So once we got home, I ordered the photo cd and now I can print photos from anywhere I'd like. 

Cars Land in California Adventure was amazing!   We met a wonderfully nice photographer while exploring there.  She took us around on a 20 minute photo shoot.  Here are a few of the pics she snapped....so many great family shots! 

Cars Land was a favorite of ours and these pics will help preserve our memories.  The best ride...Radiator Springs Racers.  We rode it 5 times and it was so awesome knowing that we were getting the ride photos!  I think this one turned out best...

Have you been to California Adventure?  What is your favorite part?