Frantic Home Cook – Home cooking, Recipes, Healthy, Frugal

Every Halloween we have a treasured family tradition that we follow exactly.

• Take kids to pumpkin patch where they lovingly spend 1.2 hours picking out the perfect pumpkin.  Pay $23.75 and bring them home.
• Husband sets up perfect pumpkin carving station complete with newspaper and specialized, intricate carving tools such as the dog food can opener and a bent steak knife.
• Kids lovingly draw faces on the pumpkins that require 1,205 intricate cuts to create.
• Husband cuts tops off pumpkins.  Kids look inside and proclaim that “pumpkin guts are gross!” and refuse to touch them.
• Husband gives them my heirloom silver soup ladle and cajoles them to stop making faces and start digging.
• After 5.7 seconds, children declare pumpkin guts to be “disgusting, cold and icky”.  Children ask to go inside to wash hands and never return.
• Husband retreats to his recliner and picks up remote while muttering something about “every #@%@# year” and “never again.”
• Search for kids unsuccessfully.
• Spend next 3 hours scooping, carving and drilling until sun sets.
• Carry two 23 pound pumpkins to the front porch.
• Dig in junk drawer looking for two stubby candles and box of matches.
• Call kids and husband outside to ooh and ahh and proclaim that these pumpkins are the best they’ve ever done.

Aahhh, memories.  Where would be without family traditions?  I also like to serve a nice warm bowl of soup before they rush to the door and anxiously wait like racehorses chomping at the bit while I take “just one more” photo.  This is one of my faves because it’s super easy and is made with pantry ingredients.

ROASTED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 16 oz can of whole tomatoes with Italian seasoning, undrained
• 7 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon dried basil or 2 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saucepan.  Stir in flour to make a roux and cook for about 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, red peppers, broth, tomato paste, garlic, sugar and salt and pepper. Cook until soup bubbles. Puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a standing blender.

BAT WINGS

4 slices of bread (makes 2 sets of bat wings)
Olive oil, butter or cooking spray
Garlic salt

Tell your kids the garlic in the soup did him in.