Creating Traditions – Halloween Pumpkin Carving

When you are a blogger, I think you’re supposed to operate kind of like a magazine… you know, like celebrating Halloween traditions in July so that you can take all of the photos, put them in a pretty post, and share them with everyone so that they, too, can take your ideas and implement them when the holiday rolls around.  But, am I that prepared? Not so much.

Our perfect Halloween evening came… the night before Halloween.  And, now that the “BIG DAY” is actually here, I’m finally getting around to share with you how my family celebrates the fall season together.  Who knows, maybe tomorrow I’ll share with you the best spots in Charlotte for trick or treating.  Talk about timing.

I hope that you find a few of these ideas fun enough to do after Halloween: like taking un-carved pumpkins and scraping seeds out to make Asian roasted pumpkin seeds and serving it with warm boozy apple cider.  Or, making this delicious minestrone soup with pesto dippers.

Doesn’t sound half bad, right?  So, here’s our evening in pictures… and recipes…

The night started off with a warm bowl of Minestrone Soup and Pesto Bread Dippers (recipe at bottom of post):

We moved on to pumpkin carving next.

Graham designed the look of the pumpkin.  And Jonnie tried to kill me.

The boys carved it to the best of his ability.

Not bad, right?

Then we all sipped warm apple cider.

I added a splash of apple brandy into mine.  Can you blame me?

Although, I think roasted pumpkin seeds are generally better in theory than in taste, these were pretty darn good.  We tossed them in sesame oil, garlic powder and dried ginger and a handy helping of salt.  They were roasted ’til golden at 350 degrees.

Now, I just gotta make sure those Halloween costumes and find something to for the kids to put candy in while trick-or-treating.  Yep, I’m a last-minute kind of gal.  But… we get it done.

Happy Halloween Folks!  Stay safe and have fun tonight!

Minestrone Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (we use grass fed)
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 cans of beans (undrained), we used white kidney and black beans
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
1 can tomato sauce (14.5 ounces)
8 chopped plum tomatoes
3 cups of water
2 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
1 tb each: dried oregano and basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tb. balsamic vinegar
1/2 lb. small pasta shape (we used whole wheat mini elbows)

Directions:
1) Brown ground beef in a large soup pot. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook over medium high heat until soft, approx. 10 min.
2) Add remaining ingredients (except pasta) and simmer 50 minutes. Add pasta and cook until tender, approximately 10 minutes.

Pesto Bread Dippers

Take bread (we used hoagie rolls) and slice in half lengthwise. Drizzle in olive oil, spread on some pre-made pesto, and top with some parmesan cheese. Bake in a 375 degree oven until bread is toasted and cheese melts.