Squash Pie

I've had a goal this year to learn how to make some of the traditional holiday foods that I grew up with. I started off around Thanksgiving by making the rolls, fruit salad and apple pie that I love this time of year. I was a bit too tired to continue and make the last dish on my list: Squash pie.  I had frozen an extra pie crust for the purpose and finally got around to baking my pie this last weekend.

The end result? Delicious.

Many people are confused about squash pie. It's very similar to pumpkin, but in my opinion, worlds better. It is made with fresh banana squash which lends a nice texture and a much more mild and pleasant flavor than that of pumpkin. The majority of pumpkin pies I've had use canned pumpkin in the recipe. This often makes the pie too sweet and yet can't cover up the strong, "pumpkiny" after taste. I'm just not a fan.  My husband still prefers pumpkin (I guess it's what you grow up with), so I've promised to try one out next year, but this year I'm sticking with my favorite.  It helps that the kids have loved it.

Squash Pie

1 1/2 Cups Banana Squash (Steamed or baked until tender then mashed)

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/8 teaspoon Salt

2 Eggs (lightly beaten)

1 Tablespoon Melted Butter

1 Cup Rich Milk (Canned Evaporated Milk like Carnation)

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon Allspice

1 pie shell (best pie crust recipe)

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix spices into sugar. Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend well. Fill unbaked shell (may be very full). If using frozen shells, make sure that they are well thawed before filling. Cover edge of shell with foil or an edge guard to protect from burning.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 25-35 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean.  

I've found that allowing it to rest for a day helps the flavor develop. So, make it a day ahead. Top with fresh whipped cream and enjoy!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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Fall Snack: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I was happy to gut the pumpkin from yesterday's craft so that I could enjoy some roasted pumpkin seeds with Jellybean. She called them "nuts" and really enjoyed them.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F. Remove pulp from pumpkin seeds (a little left will add flavor). Mix seeds with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Spread in a single layer on top of a sheet of parchment on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt or other seasonings if desired.
Bake in oven for 45 mins or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

We started eating them right out of the oven. It was a lovely Autumn snack.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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Tangled Weave Pumpkin Basket

Inspiration struck over the weekend. I've been slowly adding to my Autumn decor, but I haven't wanted to actually start full on decorating for Fall. Well, apparently I'm really gearing up, because I had an idea for an Autumn project that just couldn't wait. I put my daughter's halloween costume on hold (yet again) in favor of creating a pumpkin basket to add to my decor.

I wanted the actual shape of a pumpkin, so I bought a small pie pumpkin for my form. I cut it in half and pulled out the pulp and seeds (mmm roasted pumpkin seeds. I'll post about that tomorrow).

Then I took over the majority of the dining room table for the entire weekend and went to work. I covered my work surface in wax paper and I wrapped each half of the pumpkin in plastic wrap. Then I began wrapping each half in yarn, smoothing Elmer's glue over the yarn as I worked. When I was done with that, I actually mixed some glue with a little water in a bowl and, using a brush, smoothed on a little more glue here and there, where I thought the basket might need a little more strength.

It took quite a while for it to dry. Even with a little help from my blow dryer, it took this the afternoon and over night for it to dry. Once the yarn was stiff, I pulled the plastic wrap from the pumpkins and peeled it carefully away from the yarn. There was some dried glue here and there that required some clean up, but all in all, it worked really well.

Plus, I think it turned out pretty cute. I'm thinking of adding a couple of leaves to the top of it, but haven't found what I like yet. I think this will be a fun addition to my mantel decor for Fall.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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"Stain Glass" Leaves and Pumpkins

It's been a little while since I've done a formal art activity with the kids. With Buddy starting school, I've felt a bit at loose ends and haven't been very good at planning. I decided to change that today. I saw this project somewhere on the internets last Fall and have been meaning to do it ever since. Now that Fall is nearly here, I keep seeing it pop up here and there on other blogs, so I decided to get the kids busy today and make some "stain glass" leaves. Buddy, being obsessed with Halloween, decided that he wanted to make "stain glass" jack-o-lanterns instead.

Materials needed:
-Clear contact paper
-Tissue paper
-Construction paper
-Scissors
-Masking tape
-Pen

We started by ripping up a lot of tissue paper in varying shades. I let the kids choose which colors they wanted to use and we went to town on it.

Torn up tissue paper pile got larger and larger.

Jellybean was pretty proud of the mess she was making.

It was not hard to convince the kids to rip up paper.  Jellybean could hardly contain her glee, "Mama, I'm making a mess!"
Once the kids were done ripping up the paper, I sent them off to play for a little while. I sketched out a maple leaf on some scratch paper and then copied it onto the back of the contact paper a couple of times. Then, I also sketched out a couple of simple pumpkin shapes.

I cut those out, peeled off the backing and placed them sticky side up in work stations for the kids. I used just a little bit of masking tape to secure them in place.

Contact paper maple leaf ready to go.

Then I cut out a few jack-o-lantern eyes, noses and mouth shapes for Buddy's pumpkins.

I called the kids over and they started to cover the contact paper with the torn-up tissue and face shapes for the pumpkins.

The kids had a really fun time plastering their shapes with color. Once the shapes were completely covered, I removed the masking tape and used my scissors to clean up any tissue that went out of the shape. We hung them up in the window to get the full effect. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Stain Glass Jack-O-Lanterns. Buddy loves the gold one.

Stain Glass Leaf. My photos don't quite catch how pretty these are in the window. The sun shining through really makes the colors pop.

All of the shapes hung up over looking the back yard. Note our wasp trap, in the background, that is completely full.

Definitely a fun afternoon project. We're really getting excited for Fall over here.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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