A New Twist on Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

When Kiddo #1 decided to carve instead of paint his pumpkin, I thought I would try my hand at roasting pumpkin seeds.  I had never attempted it before.

I went searching for recipes and found one on the Food Network.  I modified/adapted their recipe and came up with the following two recipes.  One was for Italian Style and one was for Sweet.

For both recipes, you need to rinse the seeds in cold water first and shake dry. (1)  Lay them in a single layer on an oiled pan (I used olive oil) and place them in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. (2)

After the 30 minutes, that is when you decide which type to make.  We did both.  :-)

For the Italian Style, coat the seeds in olive oil and then with cheese (I used grated picorino romano), garlic salt and oregano. (3)

For the Sweet, coat the seeds in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. (4)

Place them back on the pan and into the oven for another 15-20 minutes (5) (until lightly browned). (6).  The roasted sweet are shown in (7) and Italian in (8).

Enjoy!  :-)

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Claire Justine, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things, Modest Mom, Full Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, Tasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and  Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party and Food on Friday andHip Homeschool Moms, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home andGood Tastes Tuesday and Thriving Thursday and Friday Flash Blog Hop and Munching Mondays and Mom2Mom Monday Link-Up, A Little Bird Told Me Wednesday

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My Week in Review/ Weekly Wrap-Up/ THMJ

Last weekend, our family attended retreat with our church.  The kiddos look forward to family retreat every year.  It is a wonderful time for faith, friends and fellowship.

On Friday, the kiddos painted (and Kiddo #1 carved) their pumpkins.  It is always a fun activity to do together.  :-)

After pumpkins, Kiddo #4 made all of us pumpkin shaped cookies.  I roasted some pumpkin seeds (recipe coming up soon!) and the kids got dressed to go out.

On Saturday, we had a 4-H meeting that was quite busy.  The kids did a first-aid project as well as the beginning of an apple project that included taste-testing apples and enjoying caramel apple dip.  The kids also made Christmas cards for soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and collected food and goodies for a care package.  It is wonderful to see the kids enthusiastically participating in service projects like that!  :-)

On my blog this past week:

My Week in Review (still plenty of time to link up about your week!)

TOS Review- Clued in Kids (fun scavenger hunts for kids)

TOS Review- Anthem for a Nation (great patriotic and informative film)

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Hope you have had a great weekend!  God bless!  :-)

Linking up today with:  My Week in Review,  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week and Collage Friday

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My Week in Review #11

It is time once again for sharing all about your week!  I look forward to reading about everyone's adventures.

I hopefully will have my post all written up in the next day or so.  Come back and see photos from our family retreat, of the kids painting their pumpkins and more.

An InLinkz Link-up

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TOS Review- Clued in Kids

I am reviewing Halloween Treasure Hunt and Thanksgiving Treasure Hunt from Clued in Kids.

I received two pdf Treasure Hunts (fun scavenger hunts) to use with my children.  They were 8 pages each with twelve clues, two to a page.  Included are a cover page with instructions.  The last page is a reminder of where each card is hidden and clues to help your children if they ever get stuck.

Can I say right out how much fun this was?  Kiddos 1 and 2 were very excited to cut out the cards and hide them around the house.  The first card is handed to those participating in the hunt.  On it is a task, riddle, activity or problem, that when solved, leads them to the next card.

The instructions were easy to follow and they eagerly put them where they needed to be. (even inside the dishwasher!)  I just had to grab a photo of it before it was found.  :-)

There were a variety of activities/questions on the cards-- everything from word scrambles to math problems (guess where this one led them?) 

to things to act out (like howling like a wolf at the moon on the Halloween hunt, lol!)  Gotta love that I snapped this photo to capture this.  Priceless!  :-)

The Thanksgiving hunt's clues, just as fun as the Halloween ones, were all about the meaning of the holiday, so it wasn't just entertaining, but they were learning and appreciating, as well.

Kiddos 3 and 4 had so much fun running throughout the house finding their next clue and working on each one to figure out where they had to go next.  There was much laughter along with the determination to solve each clue.... (you can see on Kiddo #3's face how interested and eager he was)

And check out the smile on Kiddo #4's face when she found her "treat" at the end of the hunt!

These Treasure Hunts are a fun way to celebrate different holidays (and many other topics including sports and nutrition) and spend time together as a family.  As those of you who read my blog know, my kids love hands-on learning and activities.  And, this mom loves wholesome entertainment and fun that we can do together (and that doesn't require a computer or television!)  :-)

Set up only took about 5-10 minutes, but provided 30 minutes of fun, teamwork, logic, math and social studies.  What a slam dunk!  

These treasure hunts are for people ages 4-104 and are available for only $5.99 each.

If you sign up for their newsletter here, you will receive a free treasure hunt!

Here is a fun video showing how it works:

Helen Bertelli started the company because she realized that treasure hunts are an "incredible, memorable" way to teach.  She believes that healthy children need plenty of opportunities to move, not just sit at a desk or in front of a screen.  You can read more about her family's journey to start Clued in Kids here.

To find Clued in Kids on the internet:
Twitter: @cluedinkids
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cluedinkids
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cluedinkids
To read what my colleagues on the Crew had to say about these hunts (and many others!), click on the graphic below:

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TOS Review- Anthem for a Nation

Today I am reviewing Anthem for a Nation from New Liberty Videos.

Anthem for a Nation is an amazing, patriotic film that celebrates America and her founding upon the principles of religious freedom.  I was so moved by this film!  I also had my two teenaged sons watch it.

Kiddo #2 said almost immediately upon finishing watching it "why doesn't everyone know about all of this?"  Kiddo #1 told me how powerful he found it and that he wished everyone could watch it to appreciate what our nation is all about.

Did you know that within a century of our nation's founding that 32 million people immigrated to our shores?

What about the top of the Washington Monument?  Did you know that it has a plaque that contains the words "Praise Be to God" and that said plaque is facing the East so it is the very first part of the city to receive the sun in the morning?  No building is permitted to be taller.  There is also a Bible in the cornerstone of the monument.

Have you seen the Great Seal of the United States?  It says "God has smiled upon our undertaking."

If you see the major buildings and monuments in D.C. from the air, they will form a cross.  I didn't know that!

The Bible was the number one selling book in America for 200 years.

Did you know that the Jefferson Memorial contains the words "God is the holy author of our religion?"

The U.S. House and Senate start everyday with prayer.  Did you know that they have chaplains and rooms reserved for prayer?

This 42-minute documentary that retails for $19.95 and is geared for general audiences, includes breathtaking views of scenery in our beautiful nation, as well as a score of patriotic and historical music.

Something that touched this mother's heart is when the narrator asks the viewer to close their eyes and listen to the BBs being shot.  Each BB was a life lost in a war fought for our freedom.  It is truly mind-boggling and heart breaking.  There were also BBs for the lives of all of the babies who have lost their lives in the war on the unborn.  Wow.  No one can listen to any of that and not be changed.

As the film progresses, we are told of the events that have taken place in this nation that have removed God from our schools, government and everyday life.  The film asserts that our nation has succeeded and prospered like no other because of the principles upon which it was founded and our founders' reliance on God.  The film encourages this generation to rise up to the call to be godly men and women and bring our hearts, homes and country back to God.

The extra features include interviews with two individuals who survived Nazi Germany.  They speak about how God was removed from their society, how citizens were indoctrinated and how, after emigrating to America, how much they appreciated our nation, one that had depended on the Lord since its founding and people could freely celebrate and practice their faith.  Scary things happen when God is removed from society, that's for sure.

The film encourages us all to pray for our nation and to work together to bring our country back to where it began-- a nation that depended on God, worshipped Him in all things, focused on Him, not only in its buildings and monuments, but in its laws and in its citizens' lives.

I would highly recommend this film!  Here is a preview:

To see what my colleagues had to say on the many different titles that New Liberty Videos offers, including Anthem for a Nation, click on the banner below:

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday- October 28

Welcome to another week of recipe sharing!  :-)

The most viewed post from last week's hop was:

Easy Peasy and Yummy Tater Tot Casserole from HomeGrown Hearts Academy

An InLinkz Link-up

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My Week in Review #10

Wow, it's 10 weeks already!  I look forward to reading all about your week!  We are going on our church's family retreat this weekend, so my post will be a little late going up, but hopefully will include some wonderful photos and memories!

An InLinkz Link-up

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