Pumpkins and the Best Pumpkin Seed Recipe

First I must share the carved pumpkins: Sleeping Beauty did Dorothy and Toto from "The Wizard of Oz" and Cinderella did an Ariel pumpkin from "The Little Mermaid."  I will have some better pictures when we take them tomorrow night.  :)

Is anyone else noticing how grown up lil Sprite looks?!

I cook the pumpkin seeds every year and have tried a ton of recipes.  Here is the best recipe I have come across.  Go here or see below for the recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Seeds from allrecipes.com.  It is so easy and yummy to the tummy!


Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

1 1/2 Tablespoons margarine, salted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt (I just use garlic powder.)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds


Directions:


Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt (OR garlic powder), Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds.  Mix thoroughly and place in a shallow baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.


Enjoy and have a safe and fun Halloween!

Halloween Party Foods

When we had Sleeping Beauty's 4th birthday party she wanted to have a Halloween themed birthday party, complete with scary foods and having everyone come in costume.  She picked out every detail and every item on the menu.  A picture of all of this is at the bottom.  Below are the links.

Jack O Lantern Quesadillas- I did these with cheddar cheese

Source: All You

Hog Dog Mummies

Witch Hats - For these I melted some butter and put some colored sugar on them.

Potato Skin Ghosts

Source: Family Fun

Pizza Mummies

Monster Mouths - My mom did a variation of this recipe.

Source: TLC

We had veggies and dip also.

Rotten Apple Punch - Some of the "worms" had already been eaten at this point.

The spread:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Crockpotalooza: Enchilada Casserole

I am doing a link up at Kelly's Korner Blog for crock pot recipes.  My recipe is not mine but it is a favorite.  I have a six year old and a three year old and it passes the test.  I serve it with a spinach salad.  Go here or see below:

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup casserole, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 1/4 teaspoon cilantro)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons diced green chiles, divided
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (I use 2)
• 1 (11-ounce) can corn with red and green peppers, drained
• 1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup egg substitute (I just use 2 eggs)
• 1 (8 1/2 ounce) package corn muffin mix
• 2 tablespoons chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican blend or cheddar cheese
• 6 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons thinly sliced fresh cilantro

Preparation

• 1. Place 2 tablespoons green chiles and next 6 ingredients (through enchilada sauce) in a 3 1/2-quart electric slow cooker; stir well. Cover with lid; cook on low-heat setting 4 hours.
• 2. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon green chiles, egg substitute, muffin mix, and roasted bell peppers in a bowl. Spoon batter evenly over bean mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook 1 hour or until corn bread is done.
• 3. Sprinkle cheese over corn bread. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Top each serving with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 385
• Calories from fat: 31%
• Fat: 13g
• Saturated fat: 5.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 0.0g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.0g
• Protein: 16.6g
• Carbohydrate: 49.2g
• Fiber: 5.1g
• Cholesterol: 23mg
• Iron: 3mg
• Sodium: 1129mg
• Calcium: 344mg

Cooking Light

OCTOBER 2004