Monday, October 8, 2007

Pumpkin Week ~Trivia , Quizes and a GIVE AWAY! Pumpkin Gems

This week I will be posting about PUMPKINS,
a little trivia, decorating ideas, fun for the kids
and of course RECIPES!!!


GIVE AWAY
Leave a comment
(preferably with a suggestion, a joke or funny story
on how to use a pumpkin,
but it is not necessary),
and I'll put your name in the hat once.

Post on your blog linking back to this Give-Away
and
I will put your name in the hat TWICE for the drawing on Saturday
for a set of two
Pumpkin Pot Holders!

(pictured above)

Give Away ends Friday night at midnight.
Winner will be announced Saturday.

~

HERE is a little quiz about pumpkins.

~

My first recipe will be an EASY one for

TWO Ingredient Pumpkin Gems!


Ingredients:

A Cake Mix
(something that will go with pumpkin flavor, chocolate, spice, yellow, etc)
1 can 100% Pumpkin
(not pie filling)
DO NOT ADD WATER AND OIL

OPTIONAL:
2 eggs

(eggs add to a lighter texture, more cake like,
but you can do this without eggs and the texture will be more dense
like a pumpkin bread or muffin)
Chocolate Chips
Walnuts or Pecans

Mix 1 cake mix and 1 can of pumpkin (optional eggs) until smooth.
Add nuts and chocolate chips
Using a small ice cream scoop (thanks to Dana for this tip)
scoop batter into mini muffin pans.
Bake on 350 for about 15-20 minutes.
This batch was made with a chocolate cake mix and a yellow cake mix.
You could even use loaf pans to make Pumpkin Bread.
Make these ahead of time,
freeze them and
you'll have a treat ready for fellowship gatherings in an instant!

31 comments:

Taylor said...

put my name in the pot....

Robin

~Niki~ said...

I'm entering your PUMPKIN contest :)
Well the only cool thing I can think of to do with pumpkins (off hand) is to turn the pumpkin on its side and make the stem it's nose area. Paint or draw on the face. No carving necessary! I've seen this done many times. I also like the white pumpkins. They look so neat. Can't wait for all your wonderful pumpkin recipes :)

~Niki~ said...

blogged about your contest :) for a 2nd chance ;)

MamaHen said...

Please enter Me! Wendy Clark

Rebecca said...

Here is a link to pumpkin recipe on my kitchen blog:

http://sgrbearskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/09/autumn-brownies.html

I am adding a few more pumpkin recipes in the next few days...

Please enter me in your contest. I love that you gave the tutorial on the pumpkins and had put it in the back of my mind to do-but haven't yet gotten around to it. Would love it if I got to get out of it the EASY way... ;-)

Dana said...

Here's a true pumpkin story:

The summer before Rick and I were married we put out a smallish garden at the back of his house. We planted pumpkins and were trying to grow the HUGE fellas.

They were getting pretty big and we were really babying them. I named one "Betty" and the other "Wilma".

Rick's uncle lived two doors down. He called one afternoon and said that someone was stealing the pumpkins! Rick was home and went out back to check.

Sure enough, two neighborhood kids had cut Betty and Wilma off the vines and were trying to load one into their wagon.

The kids said their dad said that if no one was home, they could TAKE THE PUMPKINS!

We were furious! Betty and Wilma were done growing. We soon moved to a house in the country and took our "babies" with us.

I really hated to "sacrifice" them, but they made great pies!

Dana

Dana said...

P.S. Thanks for linking back to my blog!

Blessings-
Dana

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I posted about Pumpkin Week over at my blog and here is a pumpkin tip:
Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and try to get off all the pulp strings. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray, or oil it down with your favorite cooking oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste, you might find yourself using a little more salt than usual. Bake at 325 degrees F until toasted for 15 minutes. STIR and flip. Bake at 325 degrees F until toasted for another 15 minutes. Let them cool off completely before eating them. Store in an air tight container or Ziploc bag.

Angela

May Britt said...

Just found your blog via Nikki. I love your pumpkins and would love to have them, so please count me in the draw.

shweetpotato said...

Here is my pumpkin story as sad as it is lol,

When I was around 13 years old I had decided I wanted to grow pumpkins, My mom got me some seeds and I planted a whole bunch, well out of all those seeds I grew only one plant hehe. I was SO excited when I finally saw a bloom and a tiny pumpkin starting to grow. I was out there every day making sure there was not a weed in sight and watering it thinking its little and tiny now but for sure it is going to be HUGE!! ROTFL, Well I had signed up and already to paid to go to camp that year and I was gone a total of 5 days, Mom promised to take care of my pumpkin for me. Well, she did a poor job and I came home to find weeds and my poor pumpkin (still tiny) looking pathetic. I was out there trying my best to try to help the poor plant when someone decided to let our dog Sam loose to play..he ran straight over to where I was, grabbed my poor pumpkin in his teeth and took off. I about flipped, I was chasing him trying to get my poor pumpkin back but he was too fast. Ended up I had a tiny pumpkin with huge teeth marks for all my hard work ROTFL, Maybe I should try planting a pumpkin next year, maybe it will turn out better haha!! Carm

Jeanne said...

I've been on a lucky streak and would love to win the potholders. Will post a link on my blog about the give-away.
Q. What does a pumpkin sew?
A. A pumpkin patch

Cat said...

Q: What do you get when you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by it's diameter?
A: Pumpkin Pi !

Rosalie said...

So Cute enter me in the contest!!! Sorry I dont have a pumpkin story :(

Alice I. said...

Okay.......here are a couple of corny pumpkin joke but hey, if it means I might win some potholders, why not? lol

What is a pumpkin's favorite sport? SQUASH! (the crowd roars) lol

What did one jack-o-lantern say to the other jack-o-lantern? CUT IT OUT!

Please include me in your drawing. Thanks a bunch!

Mama Spark said...

You can also put a can of pumpkin with a spice or carrot cake and no eggs, put into muffin tins and back. Very low Weight Watchers points! I love your pot holders.

Kathy, Jeff's Wife said...

I LOVE the pumpkin jokes and stories!

Keep 'em coming!

Marci said...

I am the pumpkin QUEEN!!! I love anything pumpkin. We had an ice cream store in Florida called The Rodeo Whip. All of their ice cream was home made. I would start bugging the owner in early September to start making pumpkin. He would eventually get around to it. I threatened to come one night and cover the windows with paper pumpkins. =)

A good use for little pumpkins is to cut out the center and put a votive in it, or even a taller candle and use it for a candle holder on your table. They last for awhile before they go mushy.

I will be posting a link on my blog about your give away!!!

www.amazinggrazefarm.blogspot.com

Cat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tammy said...

Those are ADORABLE! I love them!

My favorite things to do with the little mini-pumpkins is to carve out a space for a tea light. They look so pretty on the table!

LadySnow said...

That looks like such a yummy recipe! I wanna be entered in the contest please. :D As for a way to use pumpkin. I love roasting the seeds. Yummy!

Anonymous said...

Sounds good!


Here's you a pumpkin soup recipe
Caribbean Pumpkin Soup

and here is a post of a few other things to do with a pumpkin
What to do with Pumpkins? Eat them!



Add me to the drawing please.

Anonymous said...

Please enter me. I love seasonal pot-holders!

Q. What did the pumpkin say after thanksgiving?
A. Good-pie!

Q. What does a pumpkin sew?
A. A pumpkin patch
(http://www.indianapumpkinpatch.com/njokes.html)

A Pumpkin Poem
One day I found two pumpkin seeds.
I planted one and pulled the weeds.
It sprouted roots and a big, long vine.
A pumpkin grew; I called it mine.
The pumpkin was quite round and fat.
(I really am quite proud of that.)
But there is something I'll admit
That has me worried just a bit.
I ate the other seed, you see.
Now will it grow inside of me?

(I'm so relieved since I have found
That pumpkins only grow in the ground!)

(http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/202.html)

Q:Why do jack-o-lanterns have stupid smiles on their faces?
A:You'd have a stupid smile, too, if you had just had all your brains scooped out!
(http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/jokes.html)

AND, oh my stars! here are a bunch of yummy recipes! http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/recipes.html

Anonymous said...

Please enter my name in your contest. When my children were younger we would carve the face in our pumpkin and then use Buckeyes for the eyeballs. They look cool even in the daylight. We have lots of buckeye trees here in Ohio. I still collect them even though my children have long been raised!
Thank you.

Kim said...

They are so adorable :)
I love fall so colorful and "usually" cooler temps....

Melissa Markham said...

Pumpkins are fun to watch as they decay over the winter and then grow new pumpkins in the fall. Leave a few seeds in your jack-o-lanterns and place them in the garden after the holidays:)

Bebemiqui said...

Pumpkins are great objects to destroy.Nothing helps get out the mommy angst like smashing pumpkins:0)

Anonymous said...

Just coming back to let you know that I also blogged your contest in my Thursday Edition of Contests Galore

Unknown said...

Those pot holders are so cute! I call my children "pumpkins" sometimes - is that a cute pumpkin story?
:o) Rachel

Anonymous said...

I have just had the chance to go to your site. It is awesome. Great ideas and tips. Love it.
Hugs,
Michelle P.
Florida

Anonymous said...

oops, I forgot. Could you add my name to the winning pot. lol Thanks, Michelle P

Anonymous said...

These look fun!!!