As long as I can remember, I have loved carving pumpkins.
Well, truth be known, I just enjoyed digging my hands in the cool, squishy pumpkin goop. I was never one of those kids grossed out by or scared of the orange slime; I loved it! Even now as an adult, my favorite part of pumpkin carving is digging out the "guts." Luckily, all three of the kids also enjoy scooping out the insides. Sadly though, none of us are patient enough to carve the really beautiful, intricate pumpkins that I know some of you are capable of! We are more the jack o'lantern or simple animal style carvers.
Each year, I get a spot set on the kitchen floor. I cut the tops off of the pumpkins, put them in the center of the floor with a bowl of water for the seeds, some spoons for digging, and some wet rags; then, I let the kids get to work.
Halfway through they got hungry. Luckily, I had a put Chicken and Dumplings in the crock pot, and it was ready to eat. They enjoyed a little Nightmare Before Christmas while they took a break to eat dinner.
When their bellies were full, we finished with the carving. The process was messy, but that is part of the fun.
#2 As I mentioned, while we gut our pumpkins, we collect the seeds in a bowl. When we are done though, they still need cleaned a little better. I use a colander to really rinse them well in the sink and separate out any left over strings/guts.
#3 Fill a pot with enough water to cover the seeds and a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil, and place the seeds in the water. Boil gently for approximately 10 minutes. This helps ensure the the insides get cooked as well.
#4 Drain and rinse seeds.
#5 Return seeds to pot and coat with olive oil.
#6 Spread coated seeds into a thin layer on a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan.
#7 Season with desired seasonings. Some awesome combinations found here include:
Simple - Lawry's seasoning salt
Pizza - parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, sea salt, garlic powder (This is what we tried!!)
Pickle - dill, garlic powder, salt, pepper
Savory - cinnamon, brown sugar, salt
Sweet and spicy - brown sugar, cayenne
#8 Place in oven for 10-15 minutes.
#9 Stir
#10 Repeat steps 8 and 9 three or four times until the seeds are dried and golden brown
#11 Remove from oven, cool, enjoy!
#12 Store in an airtight container
As your seeds are roasting, you cannot forget the obligatory lighted pumpkin pictures. Here are our final creations: Frankenstein, Cheshire cat, winky emoji, and owl.
Only a few more days until Halloween, happy carving!!
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| Carving pumpkins 1986 |
Each year, I get a spot set on the kitchen floor. I cut the tops off of the pumpkins, put them in the center of the floor with a bowl of water for the seeds, some spoons for digging, and some wet rags; then, I let the kids get to work.
Halfway through they got hungry. Luckily, I had a put Chicken and Dumplings in the crock pot, and it was ready to eat. They enjoyed a little Nightmare Before Christmas while they took a break to eat dinner.
When their bellies were full, we finished with the carving. The process was messy, but that is part of the fun.
 |
| Kitchen mess! |
As the kids were eating, I got started roasting pumpkin seeds. I use the following steps for delicious pumpkins seeds:
#1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.#2 As I mentioned, while we gut our pumpkins, we collect the seeds in a bowl. When we are done though, they still need cleaned a little better. I use a colander to really rinse them well in the sink and separate out any left over strings/guts.
#3 Fill a pot with enough water to cover the seeds and a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil, and place the seeds in the water. Boil gently for approximately 10 minutes. This helps ensure the the insides get cooked as well.
#4 Drain and rinse seeds.
#5 Return seeds to pot and coat with olive oil.
#6 Spread coated seeds into a thin layer on a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan.
 |
| The girls wanted to help spread the seeds |
Simple - Lawry's seasoning salt
Pizza - parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, sea salt, garlic powder (This is what we tried!!)
Pickle - dill, garlic powder, salt, pepper
Savory - cinnamon, brown sugar, salt
Sweet and spicy - brown sugar, cayenne
#8 Place in oven for 10-15 minutes.
#9 Stir
#10 Repeat steps 8 and 9 three or four times until the seeds are dried and golden brown
#11 Remove from oven, cool, enjoy!
#12 Store in an airtight container
As your seeds are roasting, you cannot forget the obligatory lighted pumpkin pictures. Here are our final creations: Frankenstein, Cheshire cat, winky emoji, and owl.
Only a few more days until Halloween, happy carving!!
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