Pumpkin Sloppy Joes

So we ended up with a free pumpkin plant for our garden this year and it yielded 15 beautiful pumpkins. I didn't have the heart to let them go to waste and so I began researching what cooked best with pumpkin.

First I cooked the pumpkins, which can be done in the oven or in a pressure cooker, until soft, and then puree in a blender.

Then I tried a number of different recipe options to find something the family would love. We haven't done sloppy joes as a family before so I wasn't sure how well this would be received. Turns out this became one of the family favorites and was devoured by my 6, 3, and 1 year olds. It also works well with canned pumpkin if you're not up for the process of cooking straight off the vine.




1 lb Ground Beef

1 14 oz can Tomato Soup

1 C Pumpkin Puree

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 tsp Chopped Garlic

1 tsp Onion Powder

Brown the ground beef in a skillet, add garlic and pumpkin pie spice and onion powder. Once mixed in, add pumpkin puree and cook until pumpkin is warmed up, about 5 minutes. Add tomato soup and stir in until hot. Serve on a bun with mustard, cheese, or any toppings preferred.

SF Giants Blanket

If you want to talk about Blood, Sweat, and Tears, then this is definitely that project. It took 9 months to create, gave me many sleepless nights, and caused me to want to give up over and over again. Luckily I was coherent enough to take pictures of nearly every step of the process to share this journey. 

It all started out with countless hours of Google searches and pattern findings. I just couldn't find the right one. I looked for free and I looked for paid, but nothing fit with the vision I wanted to create. So I decided to make a plan. My first plan was on the whiteboard and it looked like a mess.

Once I converted it to "Paint", it made a little more sense and got me really excited, thinking I'd have this blanket in a month. 

Joann Fabrics is my go to hot spot for crafting needs. I always check there first, and I always check my coupons. I bought a few skeins of yarn to get me started, little did I know that this would not be nearly enough. I wish I could remember the exact count, but it was probably close to 40 skeins total by the end. I just know I did it for $80 thanks to coupons.

Finally I was ready to start my first square, which took about a week. Then I made a goal for a square a week. It was rough, but I was on a schedule. They aren't pictured, but I did the black ones at the same time as the orange.

Once the squares were done, it was time to get creative. I made my first pattern for the logo. When that didn't work out, I made another one, and another. It took me 6 designs to get the right measurements down.

My first attempt, the logo was way too tiny, the other attempts didn't look much better. It took nearly 3 weeks to get it right, but finally it started coming together.

It came together so nicely, my littles tried to steal it for a tiny blanket.

With the first logo done, I could finally start seeing the finished product coming together. 

Then a month and a half later, I could really see it coming together. 

I was so excited and sure that the last square would be an easy one. It didn't quite work that way. It was really difficult to crochet the ball without it curling up on itself, but eventually I figured it out and then crocheted the block around it. 

Afterwards, it was time to put them all together, another 3 week project, and another week to hide all the ties and clean it up, but in the end, I was really impressed with the finished product. It was completed in time to sell at a charity auction, and that was good enough for me.

Coming Back

It has been quite a long time since I have done anything to this blog and it's about time I started updating it. There are a number of Halloweens and major projects that have happend and have not been recorded yet. Some things to look forward to, besides the amazing Halloween costumes, is my first crochet blanket I uniquely designed, new recipes tried and loved by the kids and maybe some new creative things I've been working on.

Included is a little introduction video to show a new possibility of creativity to come. I'm pretty impressed with how it all came together.

Sweet Potato Apple

I got some surprise sweet potatoes. Sean doesn't like them and they're not my favorite, but I don't like to waste good food. I had been given some free babyfood in a jar that was sweet potato apple but she wouldn't eat it. Then an idea! Here's my chance to test my theory. Does Augustina not like sweet potatoes or is she just so spoiled that she doesn't like processed jar baby food? Will she eat homemade?

I pricked the potatoes with a fork and baked them in the oven. (400 degrees for 45 min or so, my timing wasn't exact)

I pricked the potatoes with a fork and baked them in the oven. (400 degrees for 45 min or so, my timing wasn't exact)

I let them cool and then pulled the peels off with my fingers. I then used the manual food processor to mash. It can also be masked with a fork.

This is apple mash from making apple juice (I'll be posting that later this week) I pulled out the apple peels the same way I did the sweet potatoes. Easy peasy.

I had blended the apple mash.

Mixed the sweet potatoes and apples.

The verdict is in, she loves homemade, even sweet potatoes.

The mash is much to thick for the pouches, so I blended sweet potato, apple mash, apple juice and a little bit of warm water.

It made it just right.

Apple walnut stuffed pork roast

I had defrosted a pork roast for a meal that wasn't going to happen. What to do? I needed to cook it, raw meat doesn't last that long. I typed "pork roast" into Google and my mouth watered when this came up. 

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/59599/apple-walnut-stuffed-pork-roast

My prayers were answered, I had all the ingredients. I had never cooked with pork roast before, just not a big pork eater. When I pulled it out it looked like a blob of meat. How was I going to stuff this? What weirdos came up with a stuffing for pork blob? I understand a turkey or a chicken, but this was new territory.

So I researched.

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/inside-our-kitchen/article/how-to-trim-stuff-and-roll-the-pork-loin-that-s-on-our-october-cover

Seemed simple enough. Not really. Evidently the pork is supposed to come out fairly even, this is how mine looked.

I then realized that I didn't have a meat tenderizer. That's what a cast iron skillet is for. I used plastic wrap to cover the meat and pounded away. It actually worked pretty well, still wasn't as flat and even as the picture on the website but it was good enough.

The meat was laid out in my stoneware bar pan (I don't know if a regular cookie sheet will work but I assume so. Time to work with the stuffing. (For multi taskers the meat part can be done while the stuffing is cooking)

I took an apple, couple stalks of celery and one onion. Cut them into manageable chunks and then used my manual food processor to chop.

Simply beautiful. No onion smell hands and these are already mixed nicely.

I forgot the walnuts (about a half cup) so I had to chop them separate.

I had a French bread loaf that I had accidentally left out and never used...for a couple weeks. It was super stale, but I didn't want to waste good, albeit super hard, bread.

First I broke it to bits and smashed it with a rolling pin inside a plastic bag. I then put it in my manual food processor to even out the chunks.

The celery, onion, apple, walnut mixture was placed in a heated up pan on medium with 4-5 tablespoons of butter and sautéed till soft and lightly golden. Next time I make this, here is where I'd add any seasonings like cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever you want)

I then added the bread and about a cup of water.

I scooped the stuffing on top and all around the flat pork, letting the extra spill over the sides. I was in a hurry so for seasoning all I did was sprinkle cinnamon and ground mustard over the flat surface before rolling, and then I rolled it up. I laid the rolled pork lengthwise and spread the stuffing all around, like a nest.

Oven was preheated at 325. I put it in and cooked it for an hour. Cooked through and the extra stuffing has a nice crunch.

For microwaved leftovers, I made a brown gravy to top the pork and stuffing. It was a great idea. Yum!

Last Year Halloween 2012

Last year was our first year doing couples costumes or group costumes. Sean was never a "dress up" kind of guy and wasn't really interested. I asked him if he would be willing to dress up if I made the costume. He said he would. So I wracked my brain as to what we could be. Originally we had planned on being Frankenstein's monster and Bride of Frankenstein; but then I turned out to be pregnant. I no longer fit into my white dress and since I had quite the belly, I figured I'd need to do a pregnant costume. I didn't like any of the ideas that were showing up on Google images, until I came across this site. Last Minute Skeleton Costumes.

All of the steps on how she made it are on that site. I just followed her example with one alteration. There was a joke going around that since my husbands belly was bigger, that he must be pregnant with an elephant. I just couldn't resist.

Towards the end of the party I had used elmers glue and a couple candy wrapper ends to make a bow since I knew she was a girl, but that never made it into the picture.

The nice think about this freezer paper as a stencil for fabric idea, is that now I have a number of ideas of shirts and things I could make. If I only had the time.

Apple / zucchini

This was Augustina's first favorite combination. Maybe it's because zucchini was the first food I introduced her too and she didn't like it one bit. Maybe it's because she likes almost anything with apples in it. Maybe it's because her food is made with love. Or maybe it's just because it was the first combination I made for her. Whatever the reason, here it is.

Always wash the fruits and veggies, even if you're going to peel them. 

I slice the apples, tossing the cores, and place the slices in the steamer. I steam for the maximum my machine can do, 30 minutes. I'm lazy so I don't peel my apples plus, I don't currently have a working peeler. Peeling the apples will give a much smoother texture, while leaving the peels on will give more body and very tiny bits of peel that don't blend down completely. The tiny bits are easily swallowed and don't cause any issues.

I steam peeled zucchini for 5 minutes and unpeeled zucchini for about 10-15 minutes max.

I blend up the apples and zucchini together with enough apple juice to let it blend all the way. If the blender is fighting and only the very bottom is blending, then I add more juice.

Then place in your favorite babyfood storing container, Tupperware, bowl with lid, etc...and freeze. Anything in the fridge is only good for two days while in the freezer it lasts for 6 months. Dating it makes sure you use older stuff first.