HaPpY HaLLoWeeN !

Tomorrows lunch for Alex!

Wordless Wednesday

OUR HALLOWEEN FAMILY PHOTO '09

THE SUPER BROS.

                                            

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

•Pumpkin seeds

•Cooking spray, olive oil, or butter

•Optional: Salt, seasalt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, or other seasoning of choice



Directions:

Rinse pumpkin seeds. Use your fingers to remove all the pulp. Drain pumpkin seeds and discard pulp. Spread out on a cookie sheet to dry overnight.



Preheat oven to 250 F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil.



Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil, butter, or spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, or your choice of seasonings. Toss to coat.



Bake about 1 hour, tossing every 15 to 20  minutes

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

1 (14 ounce) can  Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.

2.Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Halloween On A Budget

Being on a maternity budget has been and is very stressful but has also made me more imaginative, creative, inventive, resourceful, thrifty and just plain cheap!                                

Halloween seems to be more exciting and fun the more children we have. I am lucky to have had  all winter boys so the costumes can be passed on.  It hasn't been easy this year however to convince my 3 year old  he should be a monkey.                                                                                               

My 5 year old Alex wanted to be Mario last year. I searched everywhere and could not find a Mario costume. I bought a plain red cap, white winter gloves, and a set of adhesive mustaches at the dollar store. I spend just over 3 dollars. Alex and I cut out the "M" logo together out of scrap fabric and I hot glued it on the hat. To make sure everyone knew he was Mario, I down loaded the "Super Mario Bros"  music onto my ipod, attached it to mini speakers and put it in a small backpack (which came in handy to carry all that candy). The costume cost me under $4 and Alex was proud because he helped to make it and knew he would have a one of a kind costume.