'Tis the Season!

For Pumpkins and Apples... which also leads to baking!!
And my personal favorite -
EATING!

In September, my home teacher brought up the conversation of some of our favorite things about Fall. Of course, there was the leaf peeping, Halloween/Thanksgiving, the apple picking, and the pumpkin carving (not my personal favorite though!). But, his most favorite of all was "Dinner in a Pumpkin"?

What? What the heck is that?!! Well, he described it simply by saying it's a casserole in a pumpkin and you can put in whatever ingredients you want!

I had never heard of this, but was dead set on trying it. So, we set our next HTing appt to be a dinner at our house where he would make one and we would too!

Tonight was the night! I was so excited about this. Thanks to my roommate, it turned out to be a huge success! (She was the one who gutted the pumpkin... EWE! I really don't like doing that! And, she was the one who watched over it while it cooked!)

We made a simple one with ground beef, tomato juice, rice, green beans, cabbage and some spices.

The pumpkin!!!

Notice the warm brown color from the baking. YUM!Our dinner. YUM!!

And, this was out HTers.
He made a mushroom, chicken broth, sausage, onion one.
YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!

Afterward, we also scooped out the pumpkin, which was cooked and so yummy as well! I have dinner for a few nights and this will definitely become a tradition for me this time of year!

BUT, Saturday was also awesome! Not only was it a perfect Fall day, but I got to enjoy it by getting out of the city and spending it with some amazing people!

We went to Hollin Farms in Delaplane, Virgina. Never heard of that town before and still couldn't tell you exactly where we were, but it was beautiful!

Our drive out there was filled with sights of brightly colored leaves changing color and rolling hills. The farm (or the pumpkin patch) was at the top of the hill, so I took this picture of our amazing view. There were gourds in front of us (down the hill), a corn maze to the right, and pumpkins and leafy greens to pick behind us.
We thought there were apple orchards as well, and there were, but the apples were already picked for us. Here is a picture of the mammoth pumpkin patch!
It was just such a beautiful day that we took our sweet time walking around and enjoying it. Honestly, if there had been a lounge chair I would have laid down to take a nap in the beautiful sun and fresh air!

I blend right in don't I?

Chelsea and Michele
Amazing and Gorgeous friends of mine!
yep... we're looking into the sun
hence, squinty eyes!

On the way home, we capped the experience by stopping in a small town and eating at the local diner. We were there with the locals, as well as the assisted living center group, but that just made the experience all that much more worthwhile!

Beautiful day + Fun Activity + Very fun friends
= PERFECT DAY!

And, last but not least. This week I stayed late one night because the kids' parents had to go to an event. I decided to make it fun and have a "Halloween" themed dinner. I went online and found some fun and yummy recipes! The kids loved it!!! Here is the menu:

Mummy Meatloaf & Swamp Creatures

Boo Cups (so yummy and rich!)

Spooky Eyes :)

I LOVE this time of year!!