Pumpkins for the Pumpkin Carving Challenged

<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR33bg5DTBYcJQ5hX__lIMy38vz8WyDilDOSM5QjzFBKDOIcU0aNBD7eRq-kT_piPrbhaTHQKMTlaF1_4P5hJLYOYhbrVqHOe35JxzMDHyOQOtQLGpze8e00cn2DvUQZznPjQqRlinzmM/s1600/carrot+cake+muffins+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="pumpkin carving, pumpkin crafts, pumpkin muffins, pumpkins" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR33bg5DTBYcJQ5hX__lIMy38vz8WyDilDOSM5QjzFBKDOIcU0aNBD7eRq-kT_piPrbhaTHQKMTlaF1_4P5hJLYOYhbrVqHOe35JxzMDHyOQOtQLGpze8e00cn2DvUQZznPjQqRlinzmM/s320/carrot+cake+muffins+005.JPG" title="" width="320" /></a></div><br />We haven't been pumpkin picking yet. So this weekend is going to be busy. Good thing I have lots of fun ideas from lots of fun bloggers. <br /><br />(I don't feel too bad not pumpkining yet - a few years back I got our pumpkins earlier in the season, and the squirrels made themselves at home <em>IN</em> my pumpkins, while apparently trying to chew their way out. That very same year, I had pumpkins on display inside, and one of those beauties got so ripe - <em>read ROTTED</em> - it took the finish right off the table. Last minute pumpkin picking is the way for me!)<br /><br />Now, traditional pumpkin carving is great - and all of our older kids <em>LOVE</em> it. However, there's a little snag - the little one, who is now 5, literally gags when carving pumpkins. It's bad. I don't know if it's the texture of the pumpkin guts, or the smell. Either way, we need something that doesn't involve carving for our little pumpkin. <br /><br />Because of that, I've gathered a few ideas, that he will be able to help with, and hopefully avoid him losing his lunch! <br /><br /><br /><img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" height="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZYC80LUMqjSuYwH9NIUuDfHDkx1kkJ2z2DIvi0Um7xJD83MuNnACzr75ZgggPkCHYFy5zijzLG1oS5bQHlmrNkGtY0SBqxn5-F8-0CQx6PvLL6QZKGTaEE8x9jXclXqsZQi0gc6jTjk/s1600/Barfing_Pumpkin_by_Jiyae.jpg" style="height: 377px; width: 503px;" width="1280" /><br /><a href="http://roomforsecondsblog.blogspot.com/">source</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://diyti.me/2013/10/03/diy-glittered-pumpkins/">DIY Glittered Pumpkins</a>. I am glitter obsessed, and this is perfect for the kids. Even the youngest can manage some glue and glitter on a pumpkins. <br /><br /><img alt="288863763570504804 DIY Glittered Pumpkins" class="aligncenter" scale="0" src="http://diyti.me/wp-content/blogs.dir/23/files/sites/23/2013/10/288863763570504804.jpg" title="DIY Glittered Pumpkins" /><br /><br /><br />These painted gold/copper pumpkins look amazing with twinkle lights! WOW! (There's no website given, but they're beautiful!) I would love to arrange some painted fake pumpkins on my hutch with twinkle lights. <br /><br /><img alt="Rose Gold + Black = Pumpkins" class="pinImage" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/fc/54/b5/fc54b5c456b6d2ee4f78cedaa6c8179a.jpg" style="height: 981px; width: 736px;" /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.madiganmade.com/2011/09/gold-thumbtack-covered-pumpkins-for.html">Gold Thumbtack Pumpkin</a> by Madigan Made. Beautiful, albeit time consuming. I imagine the older kids could go to town with the thumbtacks and a smaller sized pumpkin. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae292/madiganmadeblog/gold-thumbtack-metal-pumpkins02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Beautiful! Tutorial for gilded pumpkins with brass tacks at madiganmade.com" border="0" height="453" src="http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae292/madiganmadeblog/gold-thumbtack-metal-pumpkins02.jpg" title="Beautiful! Tutorial for gilded pumpkins with brass tacks at madiganmade.com" width="600" /></a><br /><br /><br />The <a href="http://madeinaday.com/2013/09/18/confetti-pumpkins/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=confetti-pumpkins">Confetti Pumpkins</a> by Made in a Day, is beautiful too. These would certainly be easy enough for even young kids to help. <br /><br /><img alt="Confetti Pumpkins" class=" wp-image-11651 aligncenter" height="491" src="http://madeinaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Confetti-Pumpkins--650x523.jpg" width="611" /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thegardenglove.com/diy-pumpkin-carving-with-a-drill/">Carving with a drill</a> at The Garden Glove. Of course, adults would have to do the drilling, but the kids would definitely love the effect! You can even drill little holes and stick lollipops in the holes for trick-or-treaters to grab on Halloween.<br /><br /><img alt="pumpkin drilling" class="size-full wp-image-1930 aligncenter" height="592" src="http://www.thegardenglove.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/drill-pumpkins4.jpg" width="800" /><br /><br />One of my FAVORITE ideas is the <a href="http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/sweater-pumpkin-tutorial-no-sew">Sweater Pumpkin</a> by Craftaholics Anonymous. It's a sweater, filled it with grocery bags! And it's just plain awesome! <br /><br /><img src="http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/harvest-mantel-and-necklace-kits-011-1.jpg" /><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.iheartnaptime.net/washi-tape-pumpkin/">Washi Pumpkin</a> from I Heart Naptime is adorable, and another idea that the little ones can help with. <br /><br /><img alt="" class="pinit-hover" data-jpibfi-indexer="0" src="http://www.iheartnaptime.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/edit5.jpg" style="z-index: -1;" width="100%" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This image is from Pinterest, so I apologize, there's no tutorial. But if you have a plain wreath, seems it would be easy to hot glue the mini (fake) pumpkins, and add a big black bow... I love it! <img alt="Mini pumpkin wreath" class="pinImage" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1b/39/af/1b39af677bd2ea695a0cebd39ed74eb3.jpg" style="height: 300px; margin: 0px auto; padding: 40px 0px; width: 300px;" /></div>How easy and cute are <a href="http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2011/09/decorating-pumpkins-from-papernstitch/">Sharpie Decorated Pumpkins</a> from Simply Modern Mom. White paint and a fancy sharpie color!<br /><br /><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-37992" height="380" src="http://papernstitchblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/16-550x380.jpg" title="pumpkin painting" width="550" /><br /><br /><br />AND what's a pumpkin roundup without a pumpkin recipe? Seriously, all that decorating makes me hungry! <br /><br /><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Pumpkin Muffins</span></strong></div><div align="center"></div><br /><img border="0" class="pinme" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAxcG7zU9huxa_lV_DGOQFFoGodV1ipAvY6-RA_87cqbr9eshlOa8055XszbD4j1aXSNA2J2bGIU93w5hn4QQIC4JWQ3X6gaaKR8gSdQAca_xsIKm6vtCeq3iVGLTYWK_YQjSR_mqho0/s320/carrot+cake+muffins+003.JPG" width="320" /><br /><br />Preheat the oven to 350F. <br /><br /><em>GET: 1 box carrot cake (15 oz), and one can of pumpkin (15 oz). </em><br /><br />Take the carrot cake mix. Dump the contents in a big bowl.  DO NOT add anything the box calls for, just the powdered mix. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=ofRC8dDvCGo6gM&tbnid=e0OcF4i6GQF37M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mythirtyspot.com%2F2012_02_19_archive.html&ei=jxCEUazdII-64AOrwICoCw&bvm=bv.45960087,d.dmg&psig=AFQjCNHwOZTIaGTPIGGKcQYyEZA2ZjvBew&ust=1367695884662357" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px currentColor; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="325" id="irc_mi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0C6n9yXCChYmQuZQmA6CrN07pmmTRrXarawP-VQ94ag5gt8JWwtKWm7V4QU0_bRZJ3Z8I6ecdwpXSnqIsTzMKQ0WN2gHR15vvwEyrzzLOmaknHtO9i-oZlAVmZ-W6Bwivjh-sTRW7cxbW/s1600/betty-crocker-carrot-cake-mix.jpg" style="margin-top: 34px;" width="325" /></a></div><br />Now take the <u>can of pumpkin</u>. Put that in with the <u>cake mix</u>. That's it. <em>Don't add the eggs, or whatever else the box calls for.</em><br /><br />Stir, stir, stir!  Stir til it's all mixed up, and you have arms like Popeye. Then put the whole gooey mess in a gallon Ziploc baggie. Trim the corner off and "pipe" into muffin tin (with liners). Or just use a spoon an fill the liners. Either way, it <em>will <strong>not</strong> look very good</em> at this point. You'll see. Pretend not to notice and carry on. <br /><br />Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  While the muffins bake, make this recipe for frosting. You could just buy frosting, but I make my own frosting because it's easy, and it comes out fluffier than store-bought. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Cream Cheese Frosting </strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ingredients: </div><ul sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="1"><ul sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="1"><li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="1"><div style="text-align: left;">8 ounces cream cheese </div><li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="2"><div style="text-align: left;">1 tbsp. butter </div><li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="3"><div style="text-align: left;">1 c powdered sugar </div><li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="4"><div style="text-align: left;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract </div><li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="5"><div style="text-align: left;">1 pinch salt </div><li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="6"><div style="text-align: left;">3 tablespoons milk </div></li></li></li></li></li></li></ul></ul><div style="text-align: left;">Directions: </div><div class="section clrfix directions" sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="8" style="text-align: left;"><ol sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="8"><li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="8">Blend softened cheese and butter in mixer. <li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="9">Blend and whip in the sugar and vanilla. (you can add more sugar to taste) <li sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="10">Beat in enough milk to get the right spreading consistency. (Not too thin, not to thick, just right, okay?) </li></li></li></ol></div><br />When the muffins are done, let them cool. Don't eat them yet! They're about to get fabulous. Well, better, at least. <br /><br />Take each muffin and slice it in half, like so: <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTx9oX3fi2blAanezJAaehIzPk9-hb69J5ZIHdh4Vxi2s8p2QNpUgbHaxe04o8h7T0kpe-Bl8LZEaYk1BpWpmUYSAAi-ml6pX9Fm2SQRnBpBU2EJsDYYu-p6egch2a2Rz6xPetP9Q6yE/s1600/carrot+cake+muffins+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTx9oX3fi2blAanezJAaehIzPk9-hb69J5ZIHdh4Vxi2s8p2QNpUgbHaxe04o8h7T0kpe-Bl8LZEaYk1BpWpmUYSAAi-ml6pX9Fm2SQRnBpBU2EJsDYYu-p6egch2a2Rz6xPetP9Q6yE/s320/carrot+cake+muffins+002.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAxcG7zU9huxa_lV_DGOQFFoGodV1ipAvY6-RA_87cqbr9eshlOa8055XszbD4j1aXSNA2J2bGIU93w5hn4QQIC4JWQ3X6gaaKR8gSdQAca_xsIKm6vtCeq3iVGLTYWK_YQjSR_mqho0/s1600/carrot+cake+muffins+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAxcG7zU9huxa_lV_DGOQFFoGodV1ipAvY6-RA_87cqbr9eshlOa8055XszbD4j1aXSNA2J2bGIU93w5hn4QQIC4JWQ3X6gaaKR8gSdQAca_xsIKm6vtCeq3iVGLTYWK_YQjSR_mqho0/s320/carrot+cake+muffins+003.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><div class="section clrfix ingredients" sizcache09387117033835717="12" sizset="1"><h2 class="section=title"> </h2></div>Then frost the middle. <em>THAT WAY</em> you don't get frosting on your fingers. Eat 'em up and share 'em to your kids. Just don't tell them how you did it - you'll be a rock-star. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddKhLVqP0lkWciHjFvzn1CCYnzv7l_L7l0m1MR_xysSCdBt-9P_Q3nvlPAA5TuGHPlBZzsvMXVa0J51RWZlyIVb_0hC4SnA-gCaQbgt92ZANHPbkfsti1dZAeT9l__U8kmFKEtpH5uA4/s1600/carrot+cake+muffins+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>Pretend as if you've been baking pumpkins, grating carrots, sifting flour, and whisking eggs all day. Maybe even put on a fancy baking apron before everyone gets home. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR33bg5DTBYcJQ5hX__lIMy38vz8WyDilDOSM5QjzFBKDOIcU0aNBD7eRq-kT_piPrbhaTHQKMTlaF1_4P5hJLYOYhbrVqHOe35JxzMDHyOQOtQLGpze8e00cn2DvUQZznPjQqRlinzmM/s1600/carrot+cake+muffins+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR33bg5DTBYcJQ5hX__lIMy38vz8WyDilDOSM5QjzFBKDOIcU0aNBD7eRq-kT_piPrbhaTHQKMTlaF1_4P5hJLYOYhbrVqHOe35JxzMDHyOQOtQLGpze8e00cn2DvUQZznPjQqRlinzmM/s320/carrot+cake+muffins+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />

Pumpkins for the Pumpkin Carving Challenged

 We haven't been pumpkin picking yet. So this weekend is going to be busy. Good thing I have lots of fun ideas from lots of fun blogger...

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I Want to be a Baker

Sometimes things just don't go as planned.<br/><br/>Take, for example, the muffins I tried to bake from scratch.  I am not baker, but this week I decided it was high time I learned how to bake.  I used to have a catering company, and although I can cook, I had to hire someone else when baking was required.  In fact, I'm so bad, I can ruin boxed cookies and cakes.  My own kids make fun of me.  SO, that's why I decided to show them - I WILL be a baker.  I found a blueberry muffin recipe, got all the ingredients together, and tried REALLY HARD to follow the directions exactly.<br/><br/>I envisioned the kids happily munching on their home made blueberry muffins, soft on the inside, slightly crispy on the outside.  I'd be standing by watching them eat, with a June Cleaver satisfied smile, and my apron tied around my waist, a light dusting of flour on my brow...<br/><br/>Except that's not quite how it went down.  The 4 year old flat our refused to take a bite of one.  My 11 year old son took one bite raised an eyebrow, and said they "needed something".  My 14 year old daughter took an enthusiastic bite of her muffin, and I was hopeful, but she promptly started choking.  No joke.<br/><br/>After I finished thumping her between the shoulder blades, and had her breathing again, I thought sadly, "maybe I'm not going to be a baker".<br/><br/>But later that day, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law both assured me that the muffins weren't bad, even though they almost killed my daughter.  And, I guess there's no harm done - I mean, you can't really poison anyone with a muffin. So maybe I'll keep trying.<br/><br/>Anyway.  That was just one thing that didn't go to plan this week. The other was the pumpkin carving.  We got a few pumpkins and lined them up on the front steps, awaiting their pumpkin glamification.<br/><br/>I was happily dreaming of carving, and drilling (so clever!), lighting...  Again, I envisioned something completely different from what actually transpired.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/DSC_0197.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-593" height="300" src="http://www.fyimodularhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/DSC_0197-199x300.jpg" title="DSC_0197" width="199" /></a><br/><br/>I wish I had been able to catch the dog with the pumpkin out in the yard on camera .  It seems she wanted to carve her own pumpkin.  Doggy DIY.  One pumpkin down, but two others are still ready for some carving action.  I will keep you posted on how they turn out.  But I'm not going to promise any great transformation.<br/><br/>Or maybe I'll make pumpkin muffins... And feed them to the dog.

I Want to be a Baker

Sometimes things just don't go as planned. Take, for example, the muffins I tried to bake from scratch.  I am not baker, but this week I...

Read more »