Caramelized Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

After carving our pumpkins (photo coming..) I like to bake the seeds. Andre doesn't like them, but I think they are yuuuuummmmy! Plus, pumpkin seeds have loads of health benefits. Read about the benefits here. Last year, I made on spicy batch and one sweet batch. This year, I totally went crazy and just combined the two!

I followed this recipe from Allrecipes.com, but I didn't use ginger. Ginger isn't one of my fav's, so I just left it out. :)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds, washed and dried
• cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.(I used freezer paper.)
   
2. In a large bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons of sugar, the cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne pepper, and set aside.
3. Place the pumpkin seeds on the prepared baking sheet, spray them with cooking spray, and sprinkle with salt to taste. Bake the seeds in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds along with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cook and stir the seeds until the sugar forms a coating on the seeds, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the caramelized seeds into the bowl of sugar-spice mixture, toss to coat, and let cool.

This is a great snack! Enjoy!

A Trip to Burt's Farm

Since before Andre and I were married, we have been driving out past Ellijay, GA to go to Burt's Farm. I have never been to a Pumpkin farm as big as this one, and with such a wide variety of pumpkins. It's amazing to see. The kids love running in between the pumpkins, and of course, the hay ride on the big trackers! It's always fun, and a great place to take some fall pictures.

Check out the site, it's a super cool family trip!

Have You Been "BOO-ed?"

I came across this idea over at Whipperberry's blog, and had googled it when I saw it on another blog. Shockingly enough, it was posted on A Bird and A Bean. :) (We are always on the same wave length. Good thing we are Sakura sistas!) I hadn't acted on my impulse to "Boo" someone yet, because we dont have very many kids on our street, and I wasn't sure how it would play out. Then a stroke of brilliance came over me, and I thought, "I CAN DO IT AT SCHOOL!" Last week was Fall break, so I knew the teachers would come back a bit sluggish. This would be the perfect reviver, and would get us in the mood for the upcoming Ole Hallow's Eve. Plus, it would be fun to start a sweet treat movement among friends.

It's pretty simple to do...You can google the idea and find TONS of templates. Decide what kind of treat you want to give. I gave a threesome of chocolate chip cookies that I baked. I was going to give some of the caramel apples we made, but decided to keep those for myself. :) Erin gave a bag of mixed candy...it's up to you. Put it in a bag or container, and attach the printed "boo" and poem. It's also a good idea to include extra copies of the poem/boo so that the next person can put them in the treats that they make. This will (hopefully) ensure that the ball gets rolling, and people get to boo-ing. Put the treat packages on someone's doorstep, or in my case, teacher's desk anonymously...watch the magic happen.

This is the poem. You can go HERE to down load the templates.

I printed the directions on the back of the poem.

Here are a couple of other places to get your "Boo-ed" materials!

Ghost Boo-ed

Mulitple ghosts

Never Say Die part 2

Wow. It's been getting crazy busy this week with Ole Hallows Eve approaching! There's been trunk or treating, pumpkin carving, and seed roasting! Sorry if you've been patiently waiting for more printables, and I let you down. :) But I am here now! So do not hesitate...download now.

I used this one from Craftily Ever After on my mantel.

I think I will chant this little poem while I do my "witchy" dance this year...from Mrs. Adventure!

Of course, those ladies at Eighteen25 are always giving us something golden for holiday fun!

The Crafty Nest gives us this too cute cookie jar printable.

I love all of these fun sites!

Never Say Die part 1

Or maybe the saying goes, "Never say never..." or is it,"It's never too late..." Anyway, Halloween is still five days a way! You have plenty of time to come up with loads of treats, and maybe even a few tricks. Always one ready to help, I have compiled a short list of some of my printable Halloween fav's for this year. Make the moment fun!

WhipperBerry's you've been "Booed" is spunky spin on a neighborhood favorite.

I love it All has a fun little card to say HI with.

This blog has more than one really cool printables! It is What it Is...Thank you!

These almost make me wish Cash was a bit older, so he could read these in his lunch! These lunch time jokes from LiveLoveLaughGrow

are a super silly!

Ok, so I actually have more to show you, but I am falling out dead tired! I will have to complete this mamerjammer list tomorrow. Turn up and tune in for more Halloween printables!

Nothing Says FALL Like Caramel Apples!

I love caramel apples. love them. They remind me of when I was a kid going to a carnival or fair. My mom would always want a candy apple, while I went with the caramel. Some things never change. This fall, I have had a hankering to make some yummy apples, and I thought it would be a good year to get Cash involved. Considering he doesn't quite have the same sweet tooth as his mama, I think it's safe to say he enjoyed "making" them more than "eating" them. Oh well, more for ME!!!!!!!!! YAY! Well, me and Luc.....

First- It's best to use Granny Smith apples, as they provide a nice contrast to the sweet caramel. Wash and dry apples thoroughly, and leave in the fridge. over night. It's good to have them nice and cold for the dipping.
Second- Begin melting your caramel. I just used a bag of Kraft caramels, and followed the cooking directions on the bag. (Cash thought he was a mastermind for being able to unwrap the caramels at lightening speed.) It takes a while for the caramel to melt, so I used this time to stick the sticks ( a little play on words there...) into the apples. Again, I didn't go fancy. Using what we had, which was craft sticks, seemed A OK for us. We also used this time to pull out some ole' wax paper, and cover a cookie sheet with it. Rub a little bit of butter over the wax paper, too.
Third- Tilt the pot of caramel a little to the side, so you get more depth. Gently role the apple around in the caramel leaving a little bit of apple left at the top. Hold the covered apple for a few seconds to let the caramel begin to harden before putting it on the wax paper.
Fourth- If you want to add a little extra "som'in som'in" to the apples, then let them harden for about 15 or so minutes. We used what we had on hand: M &M's, chocolate, and pecans. Pretty much, anything would work. For the M&M's and Pecans (candy that is harder in nature) just throw them in the food processor for a second. That'll show them who's boss. Actually, for ours, we just chopped them up with a butcher knife because Luc was napping. We didn't want to wake him. SO! Get that candy ready.
Fifth- Once the caramel has had a few minutes to harden, just roll the apples over the chopped candy, and viola! If you are using chocolate, use chocolate's instructions on how to melt it ( I usually either use a double boiler, or microwave it with a bit of butter. Stir every 30 sec. until it's melted.) Put the melted chocolate in a ziploc baggie, and snip one of the bottom corners off. Hold that apple upside down, and go to town! (Our chocolate didn't look super good, but ooohh yeah, it tasted super good.
( I don't know what Cash is doing, but he looks awesome.)
Sixth- BEST PART!- Eat your sweet treat! If you aren't woman (or man) enough to eat them all in one sitting, then place the remaining apples in the fridge. Be sure you thaw the apples a few minutes before you decide to tear into them again.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Earlier this week, Cash had a play date with our friends Charley and Reagan. I thought it would be fun for them to do something fallish, so we made these pumpkin cookies. The kids had a blast, and really did a good job helping "mix" the ingredients.



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 cups flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and shortening for 3-4 minutes. Mix in the egg, vanilla and pumpkin. In another bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Mix just until combined. With a spoon, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

I found this recipe over at One Charming Party. (I L*O*V*E that blog! Great party ideas.)