It’s amazing how all of a sudden one day you wake up and its fall! The leaves start falling and the weather shifts and changes to brisk mornings and cooler afternoons. You can even almost smell the difference in the air. The coming of fall also brings one of my kid’s favorite holidays — Halloween. Ever since my son was little we have made a special trip to the pumpkin patch a week or so before Halloween. It is a great time to get out in the cool autumn weather and share some wonderful moments with our kids. Riding the tractors, picking out their perfect pumpkins and enjoying the fall harvest festivals is something that we all will cherish for many years. Halloween has become an event not just focused around trick-or-treating, but a time to enjoy special moments with our family. Our lives are so busy these days — sometimes we need to just slow down and spend some quality time with each other and relish in the kid that exists within each one of us. Here are some fun ideas to make your Halloween unforgettable:
Plan a trip to the pumpkin patch:
Check your papers for fall festivals and pumpkin patches open to the public. Often there is much more to do at these farms then just pick out your pumpkins. The farms we have found have had tractor rides, music, pony rides, games, corn mazes and so much more. Make sure you bring lots of film!
Pumpkin carving night:
Choose a night a week or so before Halloween and plan a pumpkin carving party for friends and family. Kids too young to carve can use tempera paint and create their own crazy faces and/or give your young child glow in the dark stickers they can apply to their pumpkins. Make goofy pumpkins by attaching small gourds as ears or noses.
Pumpkin carving safety tips:
- Don’t let children under 5 handle knives
- Keep seeds away from younger children — possible choking hazards
- Choose a flat, sturdy surface for carving
- Don’t let younger children handle lit candles
- Don’t place lit jack-o’-lanterns near curtains or other flammable material
- Don’t leave a lit jack-o’-lantern unattended
And don’t forget the food. A pumpkin carving party would just not be a party without great food. Here are some great ideas for Halloween party fare:
Popcorn
Spinach & Artichoke dip with Tortilla chips
Hurricane Chili
Perfect Cornbread
Mini Chocolate Cup Cakes
Halloween night:
Make sure your children get a good balanced meal before they go out trick-or-treating. They will be less apt to eat tons and tons of candy and they will feel better all around. On the morning of Halloween start a stew like our Country Beef Stew and some delicious cornbread (try our Perfect Cornbread). No need for dessert — they’ll get plenty of that with all the candy.
Once your child brings home the candy, make sure to inspect the candy. Discard any candy that appears to have been tampered with or unwrapped or look suspicious in any way. Throw away treats that aren’t commercially wrapped or are known to contain gluten (unless you know the giver — and you trust that the treat is gluten-free). Call the manufacturers to verify that the candy is gluten-free. Keep in mind that manufacturers can change their processes at any time, so it is always a good idea to double check.
We hope you and your family have a safe and memorable Halloween!
Enjoy!
Roasted potatoes can be altered in the same way. To a regular roasted potato recipe add garlic, onions, red peppers, hard cheeses, and any assortment of herbs that strikes your fancy. Try mixing different kinds of potatoes together for a pretty and different presentation like Yukons, Reds, Whites and Purples.
vegetables. Soon our vegetable and fruit options will be somewhat limited to what keeps well in cold storage or those hearty winter vegetables we all know and love over the cold winter months. But let’s not close the door on summer yet, most of us still have a month or so left of warm weather. While the weather remains warm and the produce abounds, brighten up your dinners or lunches with some beautiful, flavorful salads. These salads incorporate unusual pairings of fruits, meats, cheeses and nuts and the end result is a salad bursting with flavor and color! For your next salad, add some variety with one of the following late summer salads: 
Many families and busy working singles struggle with lifestyles that make cooking every night difficult and substantially more difficult when having to cook gluten-free. It would be great to have a list of gluten-free food that would freeze well and that one could be assured would taste great when re-heated.
We aim to please, and here is a list of gluten-free meals that you can cook when you have time for those occasions when you don’t:
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