The Pumpkin Dilemma -- To Carve Or Paint?
How does your family decorate your front porch pumpkin?
We’ve been slicing open pumpkins and scooping out those gooey guts for years. But there’s an alternative if you (or your kids) are over the traditional jack-‘o-lantern carving. Have you thought about painting the pumpkins instead?
If you want to go the painting route, we’ve got some fun ideas for you in our featured article.
And my thoughts on the pumpkin dilemma are in Just Sayin’ at the bottom of the newsletter.
Make sure you grab our Recipes of the Week to make one thing in your week less stressful!
See you Wednesday for some fun fall Extra, Extra treats!
Pumpkin Painting Ideas For Halloween Fun
By Thena Franssen
When it comes to pumpkin painting ideas, there are so many cool ways to decorate pumpkins! Carving pumpkins will always be popular, but there are many people who have tried a different, creative way to turn your pumpkin into a Halloween masterpiece. Decorating pumpkins in any way is one of my favorite things to do with kids!
And just remember — if you don't cut into those pumpkins, they're going to last much longer as well! This means you can literally leave them sitting on your porch way past Christmas, just like I like to do. (I know my neighbors totally love me for that.)
If you're looking for fun ideas for how to create some epic pumpkins this fall or during Halloween time, this list of ideas will get you going!
Pumpkin Painting Ideas For Family Fun
The great part about painting pumpkins is that you're not as committed to errors as if you're carving them! Paint can be washed off to start all over again if mistakes are made!
Here are some great ideas to paint pumpkins that everyone will love!
Make a movie scene
If you have a big enough pumpkin, paint out your favorite movie scene! Then you can have everyone guess what it is. If you're painting skills are up to par, they should know!
Paint a Disney character or super hero
There's no surprise that Disney characters and all the super heroes are popular, but do you have the skills to paint one? Pick your favorite and add it to your pumpkin. Let's see what you've got.
Make a pattern
Who says your pumpkins have to be a face or person — what about a pattern? Stripes, polka dots, hearts, stars — you name it. If you have a pattern on your brain, make it on your pumpkins.
Mix and match colors
In our house, painting is a work of art where we let ourselves be creative. For this reason, we use our pumpkins as blank canvases and create whatever comes into our brains.
Sometimes that means we have an all-black pumpkin and other times, we may have a pink pumpkin. Whatever we want, we do!
We also buy multiple pumpkins and change up our color scheme and our design. This keeps it super fun for the kids, and gives them more creative time as well. Because when it comes to pumpkin creativity, you can never have too much!
The benefit of painting your pumpkin versus carving it
People love carving pumpkins but we've found that painting pumpkins is so much fun for everyone! The great part about painting pumpkins is that if you mess up, you can just wash off the paint and start all over again!
We do this all the time and it works out great. This is especially true if you have little ones who want to paint the same pumpkins over and over again. Just let them paint the pumpkin, and you can wipe it clean to give them a new slate and new options!
Use the paint you have in the house. *Just remember that if it's not waterproof, it's going to wash off in the rain!
Happy Fall!
RECIPES OF THE WEEK:
Our five fabulous dinners this week will have your whole family asking for seconds. From our Chicken Cacciatore to our Slow Cooker Beef Stew, you’re gonna want to write these down. MMmmm.
Pork Lo Mein
Ingredients:
8 ounces lo mein noodles (or spaghetti)
8 ounces pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, cook the lo mein noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
In a small pot, boil some water and blanch the green beans for about 3 minutes until tender but still crisp. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, broth, and sugar. Set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the sliced pork and season with a little salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, add a little more oil if needed, then stir-fry the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the cooked green beans and pork back to the skillet. Pour the sauce over and stir to coat everything evenly. Toss in the cooked noodles and stir everything together for another 2 minutes to combine.
Pumpkin and Sausage Penne
Ingredients: