Is it too soon to be planning for Halloween? I’ve actually been making wreaths, collecting pumpkins, perusing costumes, and stocking up on pumpkin spice EVERYTHING since August! If I could get away with decorating the house in spider webs, ghosts, scarecrows, pumpkins, goblins, and owls NOW, I would!!! Alas, it’s just too early and my personal etiquette tells me I need to wait until at least October 1st. Sigh.

So if anyone is wondering where this sudden spark regarding Halloween ignited from, I’ll tell you. Last April as we were gearing up for Easter, I was slightly frantic and panicked over what was going in Lincoln’s Easter basket. Year 1 we just filled it with plastic eggs since he couldn’t even crawl let alone carry his basket. But year 2? Well year 2 needed to be more special! Lincoln was walking, talking, had likes, dislikes, etc. so making Easter special was important. In typical Allison fashion, I called my mom a few days before and asked her to bring over as much Easter crap as she could. I’ve mentioned it before, but my mom saves everything… straight down to the fake grass, never been touched stuffed bunnies, wooden eggs, and every single Easter gadget you can imagine. She does this for every holiday, birthday, and K-12th grade. Seriously.

As I’m hanging up the phone with my mom my husband says something that really REALLY strikes a nerve. “Why can’t you be the mom that thinks of Easter BEFORE Easter?” Huh, I thought? Ex-squeeze me?

So this ever so small comment is where a Holiday Mommy Star was born! There haven’t been any major holidays since Easter aside from the 4th of July {which let’s face it, I will probably never be THAT mom that pulls out all the red, white, and blue, makes the flag jello, or throws a 4th of July bash in my backyard…that’s what other SUPER moms are for :)}. We did, however, have Lincoln’s 2 year birthday, which was UH-MAZING {I think I scored major Mommy brownie points on that one}. But in terms of actually MAJOR holidays, we’ve had none.

So Halloween is my first opportunity to shine! I can’t help but hear that growling irritated husband-voice in the back of my head saying “Why can’t you be the mom that thinks of Easter BEFORE Easter?” So when he gets irritated that I have to spend $50 at Michaels on Halloween décor in August, I’ll just have to remind him of his comment, and he’ll just have to deal.

As for Halloween, I’m ready to take on the entire neighborhood of little monster trick-or-treaters this year! I’m ready for gourds, meals served in pumpkins, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin carving, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin breakfast bars, pumpkin pie, anything else I can make from a pumpkin! candy corn, ghosts, goblins, wreaths, spiders, and caramel apples! BRING ON THE PUMPKIN!!!

So when do you start planning for Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc? Am I finally up to mommy standards by starting in August?

Here’s a few Pumpkin ideas to get you in the Fall/Holiday spirit! Compliments of the Food Network Magazine. I haven’t tried them yet, but they are ear-marked in my magazine this month!

Pumpkin Queso Fundito

Ingredients

  • 1 2-to-3-pound sugar pumpkin
  • 8 ounces dried chorizo, diced
  • 1 jalapeno pepper (remove seeds for less heat), chopped
  • 1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese
  • 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
  • Chopped fresh cilantro, for topping
  • Tortilla chips, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice off the top 1 1/2 inches of the pumpkin and discard. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.

2. Heat the chorizo in a medium pot over medium-high heat until the fat begins to render, about 5 minutes. Add the jalapeno, green chiles, cumin and cayenne and cook, stirring, until the jalapeno softens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until the flour is slightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the cheeses. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cheese melts and the mixture is creamy, about 3 more minutes.

Place the pumpkin in a small baking dish and fill the pumpkin with the cheese mixture. Add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the pumpkin is tender, about 1 hour, 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the cheese is golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 more minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

Baked Pumpkin Rice Pudding

Ingredients

  • 1 3-to-3 1/2-pound sugar pumpkin
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, plus more for topping
  • Kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup instant rice
  • 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice off and reserve the top 1 1/2 inches of the pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Rub the inside of the pumpkin with the butter, then rub with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a pinch of salt.

Combine the rice, evaporated milk, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, the remaining 3 tablespoons brown sugar and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Put the pumpkin in a baking dish and fill the pumpkin with the rice mixture. Cover with the pumpkin top and add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the pumpkin is tender and the rice pudding is thick, about 2 hours. Scrape the pumpkin flesh and stir into the rice pudding; sprinkle with brown sugar.

Spicy Pumpkin and Collards

Ingredients

  • 2 2-to-3-pound sugar pumpkins
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 plum tomato, diced
  • 1 Scotch bonnet chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 4 scallions, chopped
  • 1 pound frozen chopped collard greens, thawed
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs (preferably panko)
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice off the top 1 1/2 inches of the pumpkins and discard. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, tomato, chile pepper, thyme and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the scallions and collard greens, add 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and cook, stirring, until the greens are slightly tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the evaporated milk and nutmeg and bring to a gentle boil. Stir in 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, the cheddar cheese and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook, stirring, until the cheese melts and the mixture thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Put the pumpkins in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and fill evenly with the collard greens mixture.

Toss the remaining 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs with the parmesan. Sprinkle over the filling. Add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the pumpkins are tender, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until browned and bubbly on top, about 30 more minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then scrape the pumpkin flesh and serve with the collards.

4 COMMENTS

  1. You’re a dork. I don’t do anything for Halloween because I think it’s the weirdest holiday. I did, however, buy Caroline’s costume a year early so by those standards…you’re still behind.

  2. When my mom visited, she brought a little witch that goes on the door-knob. It cackles. That’s the extent of my decorations thus far, but Mom was nice enough to get the bin marked “Halloween” down from the shed….

  3. I am “that mom”…you are not alone in wanting to decorate early 😉 I have held back this year and am just now getting fall stuff out and will do Halloween on Oct. 1 as well, then back to fall. The Christmas stuff will be out the weekend of Thanksgiving. LOOOOVE decorating for these holidays =)
    Vanessa’s comment made me laugh! Which by her standards I am behind as well because we do not have costumes finalized. I do however know what we are doing for our crazy themed Christmas card pics and have started shopping for the outfits 😉

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