Pumpkin Carving

Since Halloween is only a few days away I thought I'd make a post about how I carve pumpkins.

Before I begin I pick out a pattern that I want to carve and resize it to fit my current pumpkin. Once I have my pattern the fun begins!

I start by cutting a lid in the top and cleaning out the guts of my pumpkin. (You can save the seeds to bake or just toss everything in your trash or compost pile.)

Next I tape my pattern to my pumpkin and use a toothpick to punch holes into the pumpkins. Following the edges of the entire pattern. (Be sure to pay close attention to long lines and curves. Add extra holes if you think you will get lost when you connect the dots.)

After punching out the entire pattern. I then go in with a pencil or fine-tipped sharpie to draw the pattern. Using the dots as a connect the dot puzzle, but with out the numbers. I then shade in the pieces I want to cut out of the pumpkin just to make sure. Especially on intricate patterns or small pieces.

Once you have the pattern drawn out it's time to start carving. Take your time with this because 1 wrong move and you can break some of the delicate connector pieces. I usually start at the top and work down. There are a few times that I cut out the smaller pieces first so they have less of a chance to break when you start cutting out the larger pieces.

If something does break don't fret. You can probably fix it with small pieces of toothpick.

Once you're done carving be sure to clean the out all the left over guts and strings that accumulate on the inside and outside from the carving.

Now it's time to set your finished pumpkin outside, place a candle or 2 inside and light it up for all to enjoy.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Here are some other pumpkins I've carved over the years. A wolf howling at the moon, witch riding a broom, haunted house, Frankenstein, and an owl.

A Shade of Vampire

I'm a bit of a sci-fi and fantasy freak when it comes to books. For the last few days I've been reading this book series called A Shade of Vampire. Which can be found on Amazon here. You can buy it, or borrow through Amazon Prime or Kindle Unlimited.

Anyways, I'm really loving the series, so much so that I'm already on book 5 and I started reading the series 4 days ago. Yes I know I'm a bit of a freak as my boyfriend says since that's about a book a day.

The series is a mix of Twilight (the book series), Vampire Diaries (the t.v. show) and Underworld (the movie series).

Before people go "OMG not Twilight," I'm referring to the romance in that book, NOT the character development or the vampire abilities. As much as it is a decent read, I wanted to slap Bella most the time. Plus the vampire abilities were a stretch and very different that your traditional vampires.

The vampire abilities in this book on the other hand lean towards the Vampire Diaries. Which has the traditional things like speed, strength, regeneration, etc. Plus the vampires burn in sunlight. That's right they scream and go POOF instead of sparkle.

Since every book needs conflict. This series reminds me a little bit of Underworld. Where the characters are hiding, fighting for their lives, hierarchy, family conflicts, etc. It all takes place in modern times, with a bit of a twist. It does have some flash back moments, but it is done very well.

The other thing this series does well is tells the story from different perspectives. So it's not just a narrator or 1 character living the story. You are literally switching each chapter on who is telling the story and their point of view. So conversations, thoughts, memories. They are all told from each character. It's a little confusing at first, but then the light bulb goes off and you get used to it.

The series picks some of the best parts from all 3 of those references I mentioned and molds it into an absolutely wonderful read. I highly recommend the series if you like vampire stories.

Stuffed Zucchini

Tonight I made myself some stuffed zucchini for dinner. It's a very tasty and filling meal packed with veggies and meat. Have it with a side salad or a slice of bread.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a VERY large zucchini
• 1 jar of you favorite pasta sauce

Stuffed Zucchini

Meat Filling:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup diced tomato
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp granulated garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Prep:

Prepping the zucchini.

I peeled and cut my zucchini in half at the middle and then split the half down the middle length wise. Then cleaned out the insides so I would have a nice bowl. With zucchinis this size they can get a woody flavor and the seeds are the size of ones you would find in a pumpkin. So peeling them and taking out the seeds is the best idea.

After I finished prepping the zucchini, I chopped the peppers, onion and tomato into bite sized pieces and set them aside so they could go into the meat filling. 

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Boil Zucchini:

After prepping your zucchini boil the halves that you cleaned out for about 10 minutes or until a fork just barely goes into them. This will take the bake time down to about half.

Meat filling in the making.

Making the meat filling: 

While the zucchini is boiling it's time to make the meat filling. Add your ground beef to a skillet, break it into small chunks and cook that for about 5 minutes on medium heat. You can now either pour out the grease or leave it. I chose to just leave it. Now add the bell peppers, onion and dried spices. Let those cook for another 3-4 minutes and then add the minced garlic and tomato. If you want you can add about a 1/4 of the pasta sauce to the pan. Cook this another 3 minutes or until the onions start turning soft. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. 

Assembly:

Pour another 1/4 of the pasta sauce into the bottom of your baking pan. This will help keep the bottom of the zucchini moist and make a nice sauce. Then add the boiled zucchini. Now spoon your meat mixture inside your zucchini and some along the edges of the pan.

Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over the top. Then add the rest of your pasta sauce. Be sure to cover the whole zucchini. Top it all off with the rest or more of the Parmesan cheese and the shredded cheese.

To keep your oven clean place the baking pan on a foil lined cookie sheet and place everything in the oven. Bake it for about 20 minutes or until the sauce on the bottom of the pan starts to bubble. You can now either take it out or put the oven on broil to get the cheese a little crispy. If you do the broil make sure to watch it because it could burn. It shouldn't take more than a 2 minutes on broil to crisp the cheese.

Once it's done take it out of the oven and let it cool.

After it's cooled, cut it and enjoy. No knifes needed with this meal because pre-cooking the zucchini made it nice and soft. Plus cooking the meat filling before adding it to the zucchini ensures that it's cooked fully.

Time to eat!

Stuffed Jalapenos

So earlier this week my boyfriend sent me a link to this stuffed jalapenos recipe that his co-worker sent him. Knowing him and how he likes spicy food I asked if he wanted me to make this. He of course said yes.

Well we picked up the ingredients from the market that night and tonight I made them.

I did have to make a few adjustments to the ingredients since my boyfriend didn't like what the recipe called for, but he still liked what I made. Unfortunately they are to spicy for me, but they still tasted really good!

Ingredients for my recipe:

• 12 medium jalapenos

Meat mixture:

• 1/2 - 1lb chorizo
• 2 tbsp minced garlic

Cheese Mixture:

• 1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 6 oz of the shredded mexican cheese blend
• 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp lime zest
• 1/2 tbsp ground garlic
• salt to taste

Layer Topping: 

•   ~2 oz of the shredded mexican cheese blend

The Prep:

For the jalapenos just rinse them and cut them length wise. Then clean them really good to get rid of the seeds and anything else. Pat them dry with a paper towel and set them aside.

In a skillet I heated up the chorizo and add the minced garlic. I cooked that for just a few minutes until it started to just crisp and would stir it about every minute or so, so it wouldn't stick. I then took it off the heat and set it aside.

For the cheese mixture just toss everything in a bowl and mix it well so that everything is incorporated. Make sure to taste it because some people may want more or less of the seasonings.

The Assembly:

Line a cookie sheet with foil and place the sliced jalapenos on it. Fill each jalapeno half with some of the cheese mixture. Once they are all filled add a little of the left over shredded cheese to each half.

Before and after the meat mixture was added.

Once that is done carefully spoon a little of the chorizo meat mixture onto each jalapeno half. After that top with a little more of that shredded cheese.
 

After the meat and final layer of cheese was added. Time for the oven!

Cook Time:

Pop the tray in the oven on broil for about 8-10 minutes or until the shredded cheese on top turns brown and the meat starts to bubble. Pull the try out and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes and serve.

Stuffed jalapeno goodness. MMM!

Google Kills Super Poke! Pets

So a few days ago I found out that Google will be killing Slide. A company they bought for almost $200 million last year. Along with them killing pretty much all their products they are killing the 1 game I truly love and play religiously. That would be Super Poke! Pets or SPP for short.

I have been playing SPP since 9/21/09. That is when I made my first pet. My beloved dragon Telden. With him I have been able to let my imagination soar. Telden got to do things I could never do. He got to be a vampire, a TV and movie character, got to swim with mermaids and had birthday parties. Plus I have had to take care of him by feeding, bathing and playing with him.

Screenshot of my character in Super Poke Pets in the environment I decorated

If you set all that aside I also met some incredible people. I joined a club called SPP Rockstars. Well to be honest most of us moved from a different club that had failed. Either way we have become friends. We call ourselves a SPP family because we truly are. If I've had a bad day I can go to our forums and and just let it all out and someone will have the words I need to hear. Or if I have something to celebrate like a birthday, graduation, what ever they are there to cheer you on and congratulate you. 

Sure I could use Facebook to tell all of this stuff, but it's not as personal. Sometimes I don't want a billion people reading what I said. Using the club wall let's me talk to my friends without the world knowing everything.

With google shutting this game down in about 6 months I don't know what to do. The SPP community is reaching out to who ever will listen and trying to get Google to not kill our game.We've started a petition, called and emailed CNN, posted comments, tweeted, etc.

Here are a few of the links to sites reporting about google killing SPP:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/27/superpoke-pets-outrage/

http://www.webpronews.com/super-poke-pets-slide-2011-08

http://www.businessinsider.com/slide-users-are-furious-google-is-shutting-down-the-company-2011-8

http://blog.games.com/2011/08/25/google-slide-facebook-game-closure/

http://www.desktopreview.com/default.asp?newsID=1599&News=Google+Kills+Slide+SuperPoke+Pets+Angers+Gamers

I have no doubt there are more, but I think these will get the point across.

I'm hoping there will be a lot more site reporting about this because you don't want to piss off the community on SPP. Most of us are women in our 20's - 50's. A lot have brought up the idea of a law-suit because we were lied to in June about the game continuing and taking more money from its players. Most are already ditching all google products. And if you don't know what a woman can do when she's pissed then you will soon find out.

As you can see I haven't been as drastic as some about ditching everything Google, but I'm still peeved. I'm trying to do my part to save SPP. I sent in an email to CNN and I'm writing this in hope someone will read it.

If you want to help out write to CNN or do what you can. Help us save this game cause it's not just a game it's a whole community that Google is tossing out the window.

New House - Part 5

It's been just over a week now since we moved into the new house. I absolutely love our place.

Even though we aren't fully unpacked and have boxes everywhere the place is still so peaceful. Plus I feel less stressful. I think that is because I know if I need to get something done like the laundry I don't have to kill myself doing it or worrying about having enough quarters. Plus we don't have to deal with the screaming kids or the cigarette smoke coming in an open window. My main worry now is where do I put stuff and how should I decorate.

It's fun opening up boxes and deciding on where to put things. I started with the kitchen and I kept finding more cabinets and drawers. We have enough space that if we wanted to put all the small appliances away and clear off the counters entirely we could. There are a few places that I wish there were more shelves or drawers. Like in the hall closet and the master bath, but I'm getting used to it and getting creative on where I put things.

There is 1 major flaw about the house that drives me insane at times. It's that the garage door and laundry room door hit each other when you have both doors open in the laundry room at the same time. They needed to make either the laundry room door a pocket door or make the laundry room 4 inches bigger. It was the same problem on the model home and when we bought the place I totally forgot about it otherwise I would have had the builder fix the problem.

Besides that 1 problem the place is perfect. With it being a 4 bedroom 2 bath home we have more than enough room for the 2 of us and our 2 cats.

New House - Part 4

Well it's that time. It's moving day! Well to more exact it will be in about 12 hours.

Anyways, we went into escrow a week ago and we FINALLY get our house keys tomorrow morning. I can't wait!

We were supposed to be in our house by the 30th of June. Well as you can see that didn't happen. Luckily enough we got to stay in our apartment because we're breaking the lease. We just had to pay for the extra days.

Currently, Jared is next to me packing up his PC, so I guess this is good bye from the apartment.

Tomorrow we move into our new house!