Using the Whole Pumpkin - Even the Guts!

I've always used the part of the pumpkin that you puree to make pumpkin stuff, and I've roasted the seeds, but until last year I just threw out the guts. It always seemed wasteful to me, but I didn't know what else I could do with them. Last year, though, I finally found a recipe for Pumpkin Guts Bread. It's a big hit with everybody in my family and everybody else we've shared it with. (Just leave out the guts in the name if you're serving it to someone you think might be picky).

Pumpkin Guts Bread Recipe Ingredients

• 2 cups of fresh pumpkin guts, pureed
• 3.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 0.5 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• A handful of chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Pumpkin Guts Bread Recipe Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9″ loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Mix the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, water, vegetable oil and pureed pumpkin guts. Mix completely. If you are including nuts in the recipe mix them in now. Mix well. Pour into your prepared loaf pans and bake for about one hour, or until your toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool the pumpkin gut bread loaves for a bit, then turn them out of the pans and cool completely on the racks.

I like to serve it with a cinnamon butter similar to the stuff they have at Texas Roadhouse.

 

Cinnamon Butter Recipe

1 cup butter, softened
2 ounces granulated sugar
2 ounces brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
Mix and beat all ingredients listed, together, until smooth.
Cover and refrigerate over night.

Enjoy!

Chatty Check-up

I took Jenna in for her two year check up today. It went like this:

Doctor: She eats okay for you?
J (before I can answer): Yes, I ate all my oatmeal for breakfast.
Dr: Well, my next question was about her talking but clearly there's nothing to worry about there. Are you starting to think about potty training?
J: Um, I go pee on the potty, and I wear Minnie unders.
Dr: Ok. I guess she's where

she needs to be. Let's check her out.
J: I want you to wash your hands first, doctor.
Dr: Well, I already did, but I can do it again.
J (after he washed his hands): Ok, you listen my heart now and check my ears and I will go, "Aaahhh".

Independent and opinionated - I'm not going to say where she gets that, but his name rhymes with hat. ;-)

In other news, she is 33 1/2" tall and weighs 26.2lb

Questions, Questions, Questions!!

I recently saw something on Facebook about the number of questions a toddler asks in a day. Having a two year old and three year old, I became curious about how many questions I answer each day. On Monday I did my best to count the questions Collin asked, and on Tuesday I did the same with Jenna. Before I give you the grand total, here are a few facts:

• Collin asked 33 questions BEFORE BREAKFAST!
• Most of Jenna's questions centered around food. 
• Collin asked 85 questions in an fifty minute car ride. 
• Jenna's questions almost all started with, "Can I have...?"
• Collin's most frequently asked question was, "What's that sign mean?" (He's into road signs lately).
• Between the two of them, I was asked more than 100 questions while I was on the phone. 
• On the day I counted Collin's questions, he napped for three hours and was at a babysitter for two hours.
• On the day I counted Jenna's questions, she napped for two hours and was at the Y nursery for an hour.

Now for the grand total.....DRUMROLL PLEASE!!

On Monday, October 1st, in the hours I was with Collin, he asked 472 QUESTIONS!

On Tuesday, October 2nd, in the hours I was with Jenna, she asked 138 QUESTIONS!

Put that together and that means in a typical day spent with my two favorite little people, 

I am asked OVER 600 QUESTIONS!!!

Seriously, I love my two curious kiddos. They are so fun, and their many questions make for some interesting conversations. These numbers, however, do help explain to my husband why sometimes a simple question such as, "What's for dinner?" or "What do you want to do tonight?" or "Do you know where my glasses are?" asked after he gets home from work will push me over the edge and he'll get a response such as, "Stop asking me questions!" or "I don't want to decide one more thing!" or "I just cannot be in charge of everybody's everything all the time!!" My poor husband. I really try not to respond like that, but sometimes it happens.

I'll leave you with some conversations/questions that have made me smile or laugh out loud lately:

C: Mommy, can you turn in to a choo-choo?

Me: No, people are people and don't turn into anything.

C: Can I pretend you're a choo-choo?

Me: Sure, you can pretend anything you want.

C: Can I pretend it's my birthday? Then you have to make me a cake!

Me: Jenna, what do you want for your birthday?

J: I want daddy not go to work. Daddy please stay home for my birthday?

C: Mommy, I wiped my own bum! Are you proud of me?

Me: Yay! 

C: There was no toilet paper, so I just used my unders. Was that good, Mommy? 

(Sometimes you have to laugh, or you just might cry!)

J: Can I see Grandma?

Me: No, she's too far away.

J: Oh, do I need to climb a tree and see far?

Me: No, she's still too far.

J: Can I use my 'noclars? I want to see my Grandma!