Carving Pumpkins with your family is a wonderful Halloween tradition, but can quickly turn into a disorderly mess if the right you’re not prepared. Here are some great tips and tricks to make your Jack-o’-Lantern masterpiece a success!

You’re Pumpkin Carving Toolkit should include:

~Half a newspaper for each pumpkin being carved and a Garbage can

~1 Large serrated knife,  1 smaller knife for detail cuts, and a large bowl

~Toothpicks, Scrap paper, Magic Marker, Scissors, and petroleum jelly

~A tea light candle, glow stick, or small battery operated light

#1-Pick a healthy pumpkin free of blemishes, cuts, or nicks. Make sure it’s stem is long and sturdy enough to be a handle for your lid. Rinse with water to clean off any dirt and dry well.

#2-Draw the design you want on your pumpkin onto scrap paper.

#3-Measure 2-3 inches below the stem and draw a line around the top. Use the larger knife to cut along this line at a 45* angle to cut the top off your lid. Empty all the guts and seeds out of the pumpkins, scraping off the membrane and inside walls till they are about 1 inch thick. Put membrane and seeds into the large bowl and set aside. (This step is messy, but if portrayed with the right attitude can be very fun!)

#4-Draw the design onto the pumpkin with magic marker. If you mess up or decide to change something, simply wipe off with a wet paper towel.

#5-With the smaller knife, carefully cut out your design and apply a small amount of petroleum jelly to preserve your pumpkin for as long as possible. If you accidentally cut something off, use a toothpick to reattach it.

#6 (optional)-Use your imagination with paint, glue, and other crafty things to ‘dress up’ your pumpkin. It’s better to not use a real candle with this type of pumpkin to prevent it from catching the accessories on fire.

#7-Separate seeds from membrane and toast them in the oven for a great snack to wrap up the fun event!

Some creative tips include cutting off parts of the skin without cutting all the way through the wall. This technique adds different amounts of light through and can bring out the detail of your work. Using flickering lights or multiple colors to give each Jack-o’-Lantern personality! You can also set your pumpkin facing a dark wall to create a shadow of your design!

The most important part of carving a pumpkin is to have fun! Be patient and encouraging to younger ones, especially when they ‘mess up’. Push older carvers to try something different, because there is no end to the creative ideas they can come up with! Whether your Halloween gourd is meant to be frightful or funny, enjoy the time with your loved ones and have a safe night1

That IS the question when it comes to school lunches nowadays. While school lunches are notorious for being full of saturated fat, they have made some great improvements. Over the last few years, lunch menus have blossomed with many new and healthier options. Even though there are new options to choose from, your kids may not decide that the salads, carrots, or chicken sandwiches are what they want to eat that day compared to the hot dogs and chips next to them.

So what is a concerned mom or dad to do? When deciding between packing lunches for your child or letting them buy it for themselves at school, it’s important to weigh the pro and cons specific to your family. Here are some great tips and options you might want to consider when making the best decision for your kid’s needs.

When packing lunch for you child it’s important to include them in the decision making process since they’re the one’s who will be eating it! Start with sitting down and put your heads together to make a list of lunch and snack options. Include the things they like to eat and see if you can alter it a bit to make it a healthier option. If they like pizza rolls, maybe you can send them off with a whole grain English muffin, cheese, and some tomato sauce. Make a lunch “Menu” for them to choose from with guidelines you agree on. For example, they can choose to have a bologna sandwich, but since bologna isn’t the healthiest lunch meat they have to choose and EAT two fruits or vegetables with it. This type of exercise is a great way to teach your kids the importance of healthy food choices and how they benefit the body.

If you choose to let your child buy there own lunches at school, make sure you hold them accountable to their choices. Make it a habit to always ask them what they ate for lunch each day. Knowing that you will ask might just be the extra push a picky eater needs to make healthier options.

While it’s good for you to stress the importance of choosing healthy lunch options like whole grains and lean proteins, it’s ok to let them indulge in a sugary treat of choice once in a while. A child who learns the self discipline of eating treats in moderation, will be less likely to binge on sweets when they are readily available to them in the future. Unless there is a specific health issue that requires it, completely cutting sugar out of a child’s diet isn’t necessary. Treats in moderation are just what they claim to be: a special treat that happen on occasion.

Whatever you and your child decide to do, remember that school lunches can be a fun and delicious learning experience. Getting your kids involved is very important because they will take ownership of their own choices. Don’t forget to model good food choices for them by eating your fair share of the healthy options, even if you don’t like broccoli.

You’ve probably seen them in the grocery store: Hard gourds in a multitude of shapes and colors.  While it may sound hard to believe, squash recipes can be simple, delicious, and very nutritious. Certain types can even help protect you from getting cancer! So what exactly is a squash?

First of all, it may surprise you to learn that squash is actually a fruit! Botanically speaking, it has seeds, and seeds are the deciding factor between fruits and vegetables. (This also means that tomatoes and cucumbers are fruit, but that’s another article.) When cooking though, it is treated as a vegetable, since it doesn’t have the sweet and juicy flesh you would typically associate with fruits.

The second thing you need to know about squash is that they come in many varieties and fall into two general categories: Winter Squash or Summer Squash. It’s easy to separate the types because Winter Squash is tough and can be stored to eat in the winter. Summer squash however, is soft skinned and are ready to eat in as little as 50 days after being planted.

The most common types of Winter Squash are Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, and Pumpkin. Winter Squashes are a good source of fiber and potassium but are praised for their carotene. Carotene properties help protect against type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Cancers. Summer Squashes (such as Yellow or Zucchini) are more water-dense and have less nutrients then their winter brothers, but still offer a respectable amount of Vitamin C and potassium.

The best part about squash is that you can eat every part of it. Some recipes may have you peal off the skin or scoop out the seeds, but there are tons of easy, great tasting squash dishes that require little or no prep work at all! When choosing a squash from the market or grocery store, make sure you pick one without cuts or any kind of puncture to the skin and avoid ones with squishy or moldy spots. Remember that Winter Squash should have a tough skin and Summer Squash should be tender. Lastly, avoid using Pumpkin squash in a recipe because they are bland and not easy to work with. They are best for seeds and carving.

The next time you’re looking for a simple dinner, get creative and pick up squash from you local grocery store for a fun and nutritious meal the whole family will enjoy!

Taking care of yourself and your family starts with healthy food choices. Trading in your kid’s frozen pizza snacks for apple slices is obviously a good choice, but there are many everyday foods that mask themselves as being healthy alternatives. One great example is bread.

Now, you might have been told that white bread is bad for you. This is true because flour is made from wheat berries. The flour in white bread is made using only one part of the berry: the endosperm. The endosperm is first bleached, then chemically sterilized, causing it to be soft and white. Then it is unnaturally enriched with vitamins and minerals similar to the ones that were lost in sterilizing process. In the end, the flour in the white bread only contains about half the amount of nutrients it originally had.

With this being said, it is good to know that there is an alternative to chemically enhanced, nutrient lacking sandwiches. Whole wheat bread has many healthy benefits because it’s flour uses all three parts of the wheat berry: Wheat germ, bran, and endosperm. When you eat bread where all parts of the berry are present your are getting fiber, protein, and antibiotics.

Everyone should have a healthy dose of fiber in their diet each day. Fiber absorbs fat and cholesterol to prevent your body from absorbing too much. It is an extremely important part to your digestive system. Protein gives you quality energy and increased stamina. Antioxidants are widely popular for preventing cancer. Lastly, because the body absorbes whole grains slowly, it helps prevent diabetes through balanced blood sugar and insulin fluctuations.

Wheat bread sounds like a great and healthy choice for your family now, right? While wheat bread is good for you family, it’s important to be cautious when buying some from the store. While many labels claim to be made out of whole grain, they’re not. Some companies simply mask white bread, made with bleached flour, with a caramel color to trick you into thinking your eating the healthy stuff. Here are some tips to picking the real, whole wheat bread.

-Be wary of breads that have a long shelf life. These breads are made with an emulsifier that hides the evidence of rotting bread.

-Carefully check the ingredients label on the back. Stay away from phrases like “Wheat Flour”, “Enriched Wheat Flour”, “Unbleached, Enriched Flour”. These are trick phrases that lead you to believe it’s the real stuff.

The only acceptable phrase is “Whole Wheat” and it should be one of the first things listed. Anything other then ‘Whole’ indicates it was made only with a little bit of the good stuff mixed it.

While it may take some time to read the labels, you’ll soon find a brand of bread made with whole, quality ingredients you can always turn to. This small investment of time is one of many great small steps you can take to keep you and your family, healthy and happy.

What You’ll Need:

~Casserole Dish
~One small white onion
~One can of Green Beans
~One can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
~1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
~1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
~1 Tablespoon Butter

Let’s get started!

~Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and butter the bottom and sides of your casserole dish.
~Slice up onions.
~Mix all ingredients, except for bread crumbs, and put into casserole dish. Evenly sprinkle bread crumbs over the dish.
~Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until hot in the middle.

Have you checked out our Recipes page? I just added a few more tried-tested-and-yummy-approved recipes for General Tso’s Chicken, Dill Pickles, and Cole Slaw. Yum!

We now have a Recipes page dedicated to giving you links to recipes and resources that will help inspire you and make cooking more fun. Check it out HERE or through the Recipes tab at the top.

If you have a favorite recipe/site you would like¬† to see listed, feel free to leave a link here or email me at holley at savingsdiner dot com and I’ll get it listed.

The perfect Thanksgiving meal is about the food, the atmosphere, . . . and the company. You already have the perfect company… so Food Network star Sandra Lee and Grammy Award Winning Violinist Joshua Bell have partnered up to help you with the rest.

Sandra Lee has created the perfect Thanksgiving meal and a drink inspired by the music from Joshua Bell’s new album At Home With Friends which features duets with Josh Groban, Sting, Regina Spektor, Kristin Chenoweth and many others. For the ambiance Joshua Bell is making available to you his full album for to stream throughout your Thanksgiving dinner party. (link located below along with a giveaway!)

“Thanksgiving is the perfect time to bring everyone together to celebrate a year of blessings. Simple, time-saving shortcuts to create a meaningful feast can be found in my new book Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cocktail Time. Give your gracious gathering a heartwarming start with my personal favorite, Joshua Bell’s new album, At Home With Friends and greet guests at your door with a vibrant cocktail, such as a Cinema Paradisio. The main attraction is food, so try turning your main dish into a colorful centerpiece. For a quick and easy dessert try Semi-Homemade Brownie Bottom Cheesecake, so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time celebrating with your family and friends.” – Sandra Lee

Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Thanksgiving

*Tip from Sandra: “If you’re facing a time crunch—pick party foods that are delicious and impressive, without being fussy. I recommend, Savory Bread Pudding and Fig and Port Tartlets—both of these tasty treats can be prepared before your guests arrive and served at room temperature.”

Savory bread pudding – Appetizer

Prep 25 minutes
Bake 35 minutes
Makes 12 mini bread puddings

No-stick cooking spray, Pam®
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, Johnsonville®
1 package (8-ounce) sliced fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon canola oil, Wesson®
1 teaspoon bottled crushed garlic
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, McCormick®
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 loaf country-style bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat twleve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray; set aside.

2. In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook sausage until browned, breaking up lumps. Remove sausage from skillet. Add mushrooms, oil, and garlic to skillet. Cook and stir until mushrooms are lightly browned. Remove from heat and stir in sausage. Let cool.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add cubed bread and sausage mixture to egg mixture; press bread with back of a large spoon to submerge into milk mixture. Let stand for 10 minutes or until bread absorbs milk mixture. Ladle bread pudding mixture into prepared muffin cups and place in a large rimmed baking pan. Carefully pour hot water into the baking pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and bread pudding puffs. Serve warm.

Excerpted from the book, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cocktail Time, by Sandra Lee. Copyright © 2009 SLSH Enterprises, Inc. www.sandralee.com

Fig and Port Tartlets – Appetizer

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 6 minutes
Makes 15 tartlets

1 jar (12-ounce) royal fig preserves, St. Dalfour®
1/4 cup port
2 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, Domino®/C&H®
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon extract, McCormick®
1 package (2.1-ounce) baked miniature phyllo dough shells, Athens®
round cinnamon, McCormick®
Powdered sugar, Domino®/C&H®

1. In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat preserves and port, about 6 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; set aside.

2. In a chilled mixing bowl, beat whipping cream, sugar, and cinnamon extract with an electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream mixture to a large resealable plastic bag. Snip 1/2 inch off one corner of the bag. Fill each shell with about 1 tablespoon of fig mixture. Pipe whipped cream on top. Garnish with a dusting of ground cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Excerpted from the book, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cocktail Time, by Sandra Lee. Copyright © 2009 SLSH Enterprises, Inc. www.sandralee.com

Cinema Paradiso – Beverage (alcohol eliminated from recipe since Savings Diner does not condone alcoholic beverages)

*Tip from Sandra: “Re-name your cocktails for a signature touch and serve them in an array of glasses in different shapes and sizes for a glamorous effect.  If you have a special album playing, review your song list and allow the song titles to inspire your cocktails, ie. Peach Cider can be turned into “Cinema Paradiso” to match the beautiful duet of the same name on Joshua Bell’s  new album At Home With Friends. Brilliant!”

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 2 hours (Low)
Makes 10 drinks

2 cans (11.5 ounces each) peach nectar
2 cans (11.5 ounces each) apricot nectar
1 bag (12-ounce) frozen peach slices
3 cups water
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
Cinnamon stick

In a 4-quart slow cooker, combine peach nectar, apricot nectar, peach slices, the water, brown sugar, lemon juice, allspice, and 2 cinnamon sticks. Cover and heat on Low heat setting for 2 to 3 hours. Discard cinnamon sticks. Turn slow cooker to Warm heat setting. Serve in mugs with additional cinnamon sticks.

Excerpted from the book, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cocktail Time, by Sandra Lee. Copyright © 2009 SLSH Enterprises, Inc. www.sandralee.com

Praline Sweet Potato Casserole – Side Dish

** Tip from Sandra: “Sometimes you need the culinary equivalent of a big warm hug. Praline Sweet Potato Casserole is a classic, comfort food creation that is baked to perfection.”

Prep 15 minutes
Bake 45 minutes
Makes 6 servings

No-stick cooking spray, Pam®
FOR THE CASSEROLE:
3 cans (15 ounces each) cut sweet potatoes, drained, Princella®
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 can (5-ounce) evaporated milk, Carnation®, or 1?4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice, Minute Maid®
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, McCormick®
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, McCormick®
FOR THE TOPPING:
1 cup packed light brown sugar, Domino®/C&H®
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted cold butter, cut in small pieces
2 cups finely chopped pecans, Diamond®
Pecan halves (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9?ó13-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set side.

2. To make the casserole, in a large mixing bowl, mash the drained sweet potatoes with a potato masher. Stir in the eggs. Add the butter, evaporated milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice; mix until well combined. Spread into the prepared baking pan.

3. To make the topping, in a medium bowl, combine the sugar and flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture is the size of peas. Stir in the chopped pecans. Sprinkle topping over the casserole. Garnish with pecan halves (optional). Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is browned.

Excerpted from the book, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Weeknight Wonders by Sandra Lee. Copyright © 2009 SLSH Enterprises, Inc. www.sandralee.com

Pork Roast and Cranberry Dressing – Entree

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 5 to 6 hours (Low)
Stand 15 minutes
Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 cups frozen chopped onions
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 3-pound boneless pork shoulder roast
2 tablespoons Montreal steak seasoning
1 can (16-ounce) whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup dry cooking white wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup butter
1 box (6-ounce) pork stuffing mix
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1. In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine onions and celery. Sprinkle roast with steak seasoning; place on vegetables in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, stir together cranberry sauce and wine until combined. Spoon over roast in slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting for 5 to 6 hours.

3. Transfer roast to a cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, over high heat, bring vegetable broth and butter to a boil. Stir pork stuffing mix and dried cranberries into pan. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
5. To serve, mound some stuffing on center of plate. Spoon a portion of celery, onions, cranberries, and accumulated juices from slow cooker over stuffing. Top with sliced roast.

Excerpted from the book, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Money Saving Slow Cooking, by Sandra Lee. Copyright © 2009 SLSH Enterprises, Inc. www.sandralee.com

Brownie Bottom Cheesecake – Dessert

Prep 30 minutes
Cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours (High) + 1 to 1 1?2 hours (Low)
Chill 4 hours
Makes 8 servings

Canola oil cooking spray
1 box (18.3-ounce) fudge brownie mix
4 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup espresso-and-cream coffee drink
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cake flour
Pinch salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Coat an 8 1/2-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap foil around the bottom of cake pan. Crumple additional aluminum foil to create a “ring base” about 5 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, stir together brownie mix, two of the eggs, the oil, and coffee drink until combined. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Place foil ring in bottom of slow cooker; pour 1/2 inch of hot water into bottom of slow cooker. Using 2 long strips of foil, make an “X” over foil ring and bring it up along the sides of slow cooker to assist removing pan from slow cooker. Place springform pan on top of ring and the “X” in slow cooker. Stack 6 paper towels; place over top of slow cooker bowl. Secure with lid.

4. Cook on High heat setting for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (Do not lift lid for the first 1 hour of cooking.)

5. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Add sugar, flour, and salt; beat until smooth. Add the remaining two eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add cream and vanilla; beat until combined. Pour over brownie mixture in slow cooker.

6. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours more. Turn slow cooker to Low heat setting. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until cheesecake is set with a wet-looking center. Turn off heat and let sit, covered, for 30 minutes.

7. Use foil strips to lift springform pan from slow cooker. Place pan on wire rack; let cool to room temperature. Chill in pan for at least 4 hours. Just before serving, remove cake from pan.

Excerpted from the book, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Money Saving Slow Cooking, by Sandra Lee
Copyright © 2009 SLSH Enterprises, Inc. www.sandralee.com

Quick Links

Sandra Lee website: www.sandralee.com

Joshua Bell website: www.joshuabell.com

Chef’s Review of At Home with Friends

Purchase At Home with Friends from Amazon.com

Pop Up Streaming Audio of Joshua Bell’s At Home¬†with Friends¬†

Win Joshua Bell’s CD

Sony Music Commercial Music Group is offering one Joshua Bell At Home with Friends CDs to a Savings Diner reader. All you need to do to win is comment here and tell me what you’re thankful for.

One¬†winner will be chosen on Monday, November 30 after 9:00 p.m. EST with the help of Random.org. Winner will need to email me within 48 hours to claim their prize or else another winner will be chosen. So it’s highly recommended that you subscribe via RSS or email (right side bar) so you’ll know if you won.

A Special Thanks & Disclosure: Information and giveaway CD were provided by Sony Music Commercial Music Group. I received no compensation to post this information.

 

I served this at our Moms-n-Tots group and got some great compliments so I thought I’d share this easy recipe for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Three easy steps . . .

1. Use the pumpkin bread recipe from Simply Recipes. (I used canned pumpkin although I usually prefer fresh.)
2. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips before baking.
3. Voil?°‚Äîyou’ve got chocolate chip pumpkin bread!