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!

{fall} is here!

I know, I know...it's been here for a few weeks now, but it took me a little while to get decorated.   It is fun going through my decor, finding places to put everything in the new house.  One of my favorite places to decorate is our living room fireplace.  I just love our new white fireplace!  Things just seem to pop on it!  I also love the turquoise from my day to day decor mixed in with the orange! 

I also love this new ladder shelf we added in the living room.  It has lots of space to add cute bits of goodness! 

Little Bit and I made this fingerprint tree last year and I was glad to have a new place to display it! 

What are your favorite places to decorate for fall or just decorating in general?

Linking up with:

a pumpkin shirt {& outside decor}...

Little Bit was all for helping me set up the fall decorations in the front of the house. She kept saying..."Oh, you take my picture by this pumpkin. Oh, you take my picture by this...." I'm glad she likes to be involved in decorating with me and that she likes to ham it up for the camera!!!

I made her this pumpkin shirt to wear this fall. It has been so warm she needed something short sleeved {and can always wear a long sleeved under or a sweater over!} I freehanded the pumpkin shape and cut it out of the fabric. {I didn't have any orange on hand, so I picked up a fat quarter at Walmart for a buck.} I used some brown polka dot for the stem. {Wonder Under was used to adhere the pumpkin & stem.} I stitched on a little bow made with some green silk ribbon to get that leaf effect! After I had the pumpkin on the shirt I noticed a little flaw in the fabric. So I covered it up by adding a few orange button accents!

Here is glimpse of the front stoop. We have had the scarecrow for several years. I just took a large clay pot turned upside down and inserted the scarecrow rod into the hole in the pot to keep him standing!

The wreath on the door I made several years ago.

I really liked this look of the iron planter fill with fall goodness. So....instead of putting up the plant stand for the winter I decided to repurpose it to make my own version of fall goodness!

The green plant was still thriving from the summer...so I kept it out, added a small mum, pumpkin and mix of mini pumpkins. I took a small grapevine wreath, unwound it and used it like a nest for the mini pumpkins.

One last pic of Little Bit! She had to pose by this little pumpkin girl her great-grandpa made for her last year. It is set out in a little rock area by the stoop, with 2 large mums and a large pumpkin.

pumpkin spice latte...

I have recently been searching for easy ways to make Starbucks like drinks at home. I ran across this blog where she made this pumpkin butter and then added that to her coffee and milk to make a pumpkin spice latte! Well of course I had to try it....and both were super easy to make and yummo to boot!

Here's how I made my latte...

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

2 heaping tsp instant coffee

1/2 cup water

1 big tbsp pumpkin butter

Directions:

Heat 1 cup milk in microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir in instant coffee granules. Heat 1/2 cup water for about 2 minutes and add that to coffee/milk mixture. Then stir in pumpkin butter until dissolved. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if you so desire....ENJOY!

pumpkin art...

Have I said how much I love fall?!!! It is definitely my favorite season! The colors, pumpkins, cooler weather, comfy cardis, Thanksgiving...what more could you ask for?! So needless to say I have a FEW fall decor items around the house.

For Valentines Day I had made this framed heart punch art inspired by Ali Edwards butterfly one. So I took that inspiration again and made this pumpkin art! I stared with a piece of pumpkin cardstock and used some ink to distress it a bit. Next I stamped some pumpkins using an older Stampin Up! set and and some Basic Grey patterned paper. I used the curly label punch to punch out some brown backgrounds for the pumpkins. I adhered them to the cardstock base and then used dimensionals to adhere the pumpkins!

I also love to use scrabble letters to spell out words for different occasions. With this grouping I have spelled out HARVEST.

By using things I already had on hand and repurposing a vase...this whole grouping was super cheap to put together. I only bought 3 more berry springs to fill in with what I had {and I got them half off at Hobby Lobby...about 99 cents each!}.

Linking up to:

thrifty glass hurricane...

It's beginning to feel alot like autumn...! That puts me in the mood to get out the fall decorations. Every year I dig out the box of decorations I reevaluate what's inside. I love to shop end of season sales and see what I can add to my collection for a steal! I also love to make decor elements for our home. A couple weeks ago I saw this post about making knock off Williams Sonoma glass hurricanes and thought...those look fun! So I set our for Goodwill and was lucky enough to find both pieces I needed for the project.

Red was the half price color of the day...and the hurricane I found happened to have a red sticker...so only 35 cents for that piece and the candle stick was only 76 cents...score! I took some gorilla glue and adhered them together.

TADA....my version of this for a little over $1.00! I filled it with some pine cones I had on hand and some acorns I picked up in our backyard. {I'm excited to fill this up with lots of different things to go along with the seasons!}

Here is a full shot of my fall themed mantel. Remember my autumn banner I posted about here. I want to add some little pumpkins and gourds in a couple weeks....after we get back from vacation!

Fun with Pumpkins!

What a fun fall we have been having! Our activities last month mainly focused on PUMPKINS, but had an overall fall theme. We have been taking advantage of the wonderful weather by getting outside and playing as much as possible. Little Bit loves the park, taking family walks and playing in the leaves!

Activities:
pick and carve a pumpkin...we visited a pumpkin patch, picked out a pumpkin and carved it!
pumpkin plate...orange plate with black construction paper shapes cut out to make a face

number leaves...I numbered silk leaves {dollar section at Target} from 1-9...she loves counting them and throwing them up in the air!

coloring...free handed a tree with stamped leaves all over it

outside time...park, park and more park!

Snacks:
pumpkin seeds {roasted seeds we removed from the pumpkin!}
pumpkin cake

Reading:
Five Little Pumpkins by Iris Van Rynbach
Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara
Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall

{utilize your local library for reading material!!!}

Pumpkin Dump Cake

This cake turned out so moist and yummo! Another great pumpkin treat for the season!!! {...even better topped with cool whip!}

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can pumpkin
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 can evaporated milk
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together pumpkin, eggs, sugar, spices and canned milk. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over the mixture. Drizzle melted butter over the dry cake mix. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Bake about 50-60 minutes.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds...

It's that time of year again....the time for PUMPKINS!!! {or "cumpins" as Little Bit would say!} We decided to try our hands at carving a pumpkin this year. Little Bit enjoyed walking around the Apple Barn, looking at all the pumpkins and helping to pick one out. We just got a small one to experiment with for our first carving. While cleaning out the seeds, I thought...why throw these away...I'll try roasting them.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp butter, melted {or Olive oil could be used instead}
salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300º F.

Rinse seeds, cleaning off any major chunks of string and pulp. Toss pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the melted butter or oil and salt {and/or seasonings of your choice}. Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally or until golden brown.

{I just did plain salted seeds this time...but I think garlic or cinnamon would be yummo too!}

Fall is in the air!

At least in my house it is! Fall is my favorite time of year. I just love the weather, beautiful colors and good food that comes along with it! Plus my precious Little Bit was born at the end of September!!! {I still can't believe she will be 2 next week!}

...homemade granola is in the crockpot {will let you know how that turns out}, pumpkin pie squares are in the oven and decorations are being dug out! Little Bit and I are dusting and preparing for pumpkins all around! Those sweet little pumpkins above we just picked from our garden!

I just love displaying sayings with these scrabble letters. I saw the idea in a magazine years ago and thought it was so neat! A friend of mine bought the game cheap and just wanted the board...so she gave me the letter tiles and stands.

Pumpkin Cake Delight

It's time for another yummy and simple pumpkin recipe!

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup butter, melted
cool whip

Directions:
Spread the pie filling in bottom of 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the cake mix over the filling. Pour the melted butter over the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Top with cool whip!

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away?! It seems to creep up faster and faster every year. One thing my DH and I look forward to this time of year are yummy pumpkin recipes! So I have decided to share some of our favorites with you. I posted Pumpkin Pie Squares several weeks ago. It is one we make over and over again! I have included the recipe for Pumpkin Chip Muffins in this post. More to come throughout the rest of the month.

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 16 oz can pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin tins three-fourths full.

Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Makes about 24 standard size muffins.

Hippos & pumpkins?

I just love this picture my hubby sent me. It was one of the most viewed photos on Yahoo earlier today. I bet this hippo would love my pumpkin bars!!! Caption: Fifteen year old Hippo Albert opens his mouth to catch a pumpkin fed to him in Cologne Zoo, western Germany, Thursday, October 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Roberto Pfeil)

Pumpkin Pie Squares

For crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats and brown sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into bottom of an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

For filling:
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 12 oz can evaporate milk
3 slightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Pour over baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Cool for 1 hour and then chill 4 hours.

This is great served with whipped topping and a sprinkle of cinnamon!