AVS Halloween Party

On Monday AVS had their annual Halloween party. Ellie and Kohlton had a different costume idea, but they are saving it for next year. They opted for a pretty comical set of costumes. Ethan and Ellie had unbelievable thrift store luck and found the perfect items to put together a sailor costume. He has been wanting the 13 button trousers for as long as he had been on the ship. He wanted me to make a pair, but time did come available. The kids went to the ARC and searched, not finding any, they were leaving that area of the store when another customer approached them saying, "Excuse me. I did not mean to listen to your conversation, but I think these are the pants you are looking for." And they are indeed perfect and brand new.

Our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party and Potluck + Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

On Wednesday evening we hosted our annual Pumpkin Carving Party and Potluck. It was fun, but smaller, less crazy that in years past.

They carved pumpkins, of course.

With the advent of Pinterest, the artistic expectations of pumpkin carving art has certainly risen.

I put together a party soundtrack in Grooveshark.You can enjoy it, too, by using this link.

There was some silly dancing to songs from various Halloweeny-ish movies.

And of course there was the lighting of the pumpkins. I think this might be my favorite part.

I provided stuff to make Frito pie (Frito corn chips topped with Hormel chili and cheddar cheese), as well as stuff for rootbeer floats. Our guests brought desserts and other main dishes.

After the carving was complete, the kids played games and I prepared the pumpkin seeds for roasting. I put the pumpkin guts and seeds in cold water to I let them dry for a day before roasting them. I coated them with butter, dusted them with salt (some people suggested using garlic powder) and roasted them at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.

And of course we missed Ethan who is now sailing in the waters off of the Mexican coast.

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APPLESAUCE OATMEAL COOKIES
via: Cooks.com

2 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
2 eggs, well beaten
3 1/2 c. flour
2 c. oatmeal
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. applesauce with 2 tsp. soda added
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. raisins
2 c. walnuts

Cream sugar and shortening; add the eggs. Add the applesauce/soda mixture and mix well. Sift together flour, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon and add. Add oatmeal, raisins and nuts last. Drop by teaspoons on greased cookie sheets and bake in 400°F oven for about 12 minutes.
Makes 7 dozen cookies.
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Our Party Soundtrack via Grooveshark!



Fun Halloween Related Music Videos:

The Alpine Valley School Halloween Party

Ellie and Kohlton put on a great party at school. What a busy day it was for them. In addition to setting up for the party, they finished their costumes, made a cake, picked up Brandon from the airport and oh yeah, did the usual school stuff, too. Here's a quick recap of the party:

I thought Ellie looked lovely in the Harley Quinn outfit that I made for her. Harley Quinn is Joker's girlfriend and therapist.

I missed Ethan. He will not be home for Thanksgiving, either. That will be sad and strange.

Halloween Decorations - This Year's Crop of Fun Stuff + a Brisket Recipe and a Green Chile Posole Recipe

It is finally October and I love checking out all of the Halloween decorations that some of my favorite store carry. I am both relieved and disappointed when a store does not have much that I love. That is not the case this year. Here's some of the fun stuff I would love to have:

Crate and Barrel:

Cost Plus World Market:

William Sonoma:

Pottery Barn:
http://ab.pkimgs.com/pkimgs/ab/images/dp/wcm/201429/0002/img19o.jpg

Brisket with BBQ Sauce
via: Allrecipes.com

4 pounds lean beef brisket
2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour liquid smoke over brisket. Rub with onion salt and garlic salt. Roll brisket in foil and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place brisket in a large roasting pan. Cover and bake for 5 to 6 hours. Remove from oven, cool, and then slice. Put slices back into pan.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, ketchup, butter, water, celery salt, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir, and cook until boiling.
4. Pour sauce over meat slices in pan. Cover and bake for 1 more hour.

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Green Chile Posole
from: Tasting Colorado by Michele Morris

Pork:
4-5 pound Pork Shoulder
5 TBL. Mesquite Liquid Smoke (I like the liquid smoke that I get from William Sonoma best)
1 tea Salt
2 tea Cumin
1 tea Coriander, Ground
2 tea Chile Powder

Posole:
14 oz. Beef Stock
1/2 cup extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
2 x 28 oz. Hominy, drained and rinsed
28 oz. Tomatoes, Mexican stewed
4 oz. Tamatillos, pureed
3 bunch Scallons, finely chopped
1 tea Cumin
Salt and Pepper to Taste
28 oz. Green Enchilada Sauce
1/2 pound Chile Peppers
Cheese for Topping (I used Cheddar Cheese)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spear the roast all over with a knife. Place on 2 layers of foil. Mic together the spices. Rub in the liquid smoke into the meat. Do the same with the spice mix. Seal in the first layer of foil. Then repeat with the second layer of foil. Be sure to do them separately.

Fill a broiler pan with 1" of hot water. Place the pork in the pan with the hot water and cook it for 3 hours.

Remove and let it cool in the foil. Shred or cube, discarding the fat.

Place the pork in a large stockpot. Add all of the posole ingredients, except the cheese. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Top with cheese before serving.

A Blustery End to October

Thursday, Halloween, found it self cold and blustery. As the evening light faded, the leaves rustled in swirly patterns on the sidewalk as wee trick-or-treaters scampered from house to house in search of treats. The last of the leaves that hung onto the trees the day before would be on the ground by the evenings end. Remmie loved playing in the pile of leaves. He would leap and bound into the pile, then poking his nose into the leaves looking for treasures he had buried earlier in the day.

After picking up Ellie and Kohlton from school, I came home to welcome Keenan over. He had appreciated the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) make-up I had for Ethan and he asked if he could be done up, too. We originally thought we would do something more colorful, but ended up on settling for a scary look instead.

The night before Ellie had done Kohlton's face.

We moved the pumpkins to the front yard. On Sunday Ellie and Larr carved pumpkins together.