Our October Adventures

I am finally jumping on the bandwagon to post the obligatory All-Things October (read: pumpkin patch, Halloween) photos.

The boys are lucky enough to have a grandma who grows pumpkins for them every year! This year the pumpkins were HUGE and I had to call in the reinforcements just to get them out of my trunk!

I don't think it's going to fit in my truck, Mom.

I was supposed to bring the boys to a nearby farm that has a wagon ride, pony rides, corn tunnel, petting zoo etc., but when I woke up that morning to a dusting of snow, I opted out. It actually turned out to be a really nice day, but snow just has a really depressing affect on me and there was no motivating me to step outside after that.

Instead, Daddio and I took the boys to a local family farm to pick out some more pumpkins. (Because apparently, two LARGE pumpkins were not enough for our front porch. We ended up with 8! more, in varying sizes).

Can I have this one?

I am NOT taking down my hood for a picture, Mom

That night we attended a pumpkin carving party where Daddio had big intentions of carving three of the pumpkins, but he only got around to one of them.

Okay, I will sit here because you gave me a chip, but I am NOT looking at the camera!

Benny knows how to listen. But not look at the camera.

They also had a Halloween themed craft at the party (Owen was thoughtful enough to make one for Ben too. Awww). And they decorated Halloween cookies. 

Why can't I have TWO houses on mine, Mom?

 I hosted a girls' game night AND a had a lasagna dinner at our house while Daddio was out of town for two weeks, all by myself. (And for those of you who don't know me well, that's a pretty big deal!) I even decorated with pretty autumn colors:

How great are autumn colors?

(That would be my apple and pumpkin pie sitting there on the buffet. And walnut cookies that I soon discovered Owen is allergic too. Just like Mommy. Why am I not surprised?).

The napkins match the place mats. I was so proud. We don't usually even have napkins in the house.

 For Halloween, Owen dressed up as a pumpkin. His costume was made by Grandma S. 12 years ago for my nephew. It's really held up well!

Can we just go already? The candy won't be there forever!

And Ben was a cuddly little bear. Or not so much. He was more like a grumpy, whiny, little bear. He made it to six houses before we headed back to ours to hand out candy for the rest of the night. Grandma S. also made his costume. He hated the headpiece part and would only leave it on while we were outside:

How long do I have to wear this?

(Grandma S. also made Owen's first Halloween costume two years ago):

How much longer do I have to do this?

 Isn't that the cutest skunk you've ever seen? That Grandma S. She's pretty handy to have around!

That was pretty much it for our October. We are still working through a major horde of candy, split three ways. We are THOSE parents who sort through the candy ahead of time and get rid of the pieces that we don't think Owen should be eating, like Pixie Sticks, Charleston Chew, and Almond Joys. (The latter because they are Mommy's favorite!) But don't worry, he ended up with most of the loot and a pretty good variety too, (Kit Kats, Twizzlers, Three Musketeers, Reese's etc.).

And now that we are in November, I suppose it's time to start planning for Christmas Thanksgiving. Let's not rush things TOO much!

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Tasty Tuesday: Crumb-Topped Apple & Pumpkin Pie

I have never really been a fan of apple pie. (I know. How un-American of me). But when I came across this recipe in my Light & Tasty magazine it sounded promising. I made it for the first time for Christmas last year and it received rave reviews. I made it again this past weekend when I hosted a game night and a separate dinner night at my house. It received even more rave reviews and several requests for a copy of the recipe. They plan to make this for their Thanksgiving dinners.

Crumb-Topped Apple & Pumpkin Pie

APPLE LAYER:

1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
2 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

PUMPKIN FILLING:

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

TOPPING:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons cold butter
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

On a lightly floured surface, unroll pastry. Transfer pastry to a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges. In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon. Spoon into crust.

In another large bowl, whisk the pumpkin filling ingredients. Pour over apple mixture. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

For topping, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly; stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over pie. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until a knife inserted into pumpkin layer comes out clean (cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary).

Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 10 servings


Note: I made a couple of changes from the original recipe out of convenience. Instead of a sheet of refrigerated pie pastry, I used a deep-dish pie shell (from the freezer section). I also used 2 eggs instead of the egg substitute. I eliminated the chopped walnuts in the topping due to allergies. I also found that I had to add at least around 1 tablespoon of butter to the topping in order to get it to crumble properly.



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