To say 2020 has been weird would be a major understatement. Essentially, a year of our lives happened and we didn’t have any control over any of it.
We have been told when we can and can’t leave our houses, we are told what to wear when we do leave our houses, we are told how many people we are allowed to spend time with, we have been told no traveling, no dance recitals, no birthday parties, no funerals, and no dinner gatherings. Our children have missed out on graduations, parties, visiting with cousins, starting new jobs, and some have even missed getting their drivers licenses!
Nobody wanted this and nobody could have predicted how this virus has changed every aspect of our lives.
But I have a theory! On Friday, March 13 there was a full moon and that weekend we set our clocks one hour ahead. That was the weekend our lives got flipped turned upside down. Next weekend is a full moon as well… On Halloween… And our clocks will be turned backwards. Perhaps, just maybe, whoever is pulling our strings up there in the cosmos is done with us? Maybe… Just maybe… This experiment or freaky Friday craziness 😂 will be over? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everything’s going to go back to normal and it will be just like Covid never happened LOL what I’m saying is maybe a sense of normalcy will return and we will see the light at the end of the 2020 tunnel.
On Tuesday United States will elect their next president. Maybe this will be our first step towards returning to a society that I recognize. Maybe this will be the first sign that the skies are clearing and the flood of despair that 2020 has hammered us with will start to recede.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #195: Shots in 60 Seconds HERE This week we record AFTER Podtoberfests’s shot taking hour! What could go wrong? Topics include: Podtoberfest, fall drinks, new school normal, freak blizzard & elections.
For baking this week I made pumpkin bread! Last year my girlfriend treated me to a slice of pumpkin loaf from Starbucks and I’ve been hooked ever since! I made 2 loaves and put chocolate chips in one of them and they were both fantastic! Now, they are moist and flavorful but they don’t quite taste like Starbucks so I will have to try a new recipe in the future! Thankfully, my Mom’s Cousin gave us a few sugar pumpkins from her garden this year! I roasted them up and made some smooth and delicious pumpkin purée for all my pumpkin baking needs! It was so easy to do, made the house smell amazing, and I have 2 more bags of purée in the freezer to keep on testing out pumpkin loaves until I find the one that tastes like my Starbucks obsession! 😂 Also, I over beat my batter and my loaves didn’t rise as much as I would have liked so I will be more careful of that in the future. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my family did!
Easy Homemade Chili
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can tomato sauce
Add the oil to a Dutch over and place it over medium-high heat for two minutes. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the ground beef to the pot. Break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until the beef is browned, stirring occasionally.
Add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
Add the broth, diced tomatoes (with their juice), beans, and tomato sauce. Stir well.
Bring the liquid to a low boil. Then, reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the pot from the heat. Let the chili rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Wash and dry the sugar pumpkin. Using a large knife, carefully cut the pumpkin in half.
Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp. Save the seeds for roasting.
Lay a piece of foil on a rimmed baking sheet, spray it with non stick oil for easy clean up. Place the pumpkin halves, cut side down, on the baking sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30-45 minutes. The pumpkin is done when a knife easily pierces through it.
Let the pumpkin cool until it is easy to handle. Use a spoon to scoop out the soft pumpkin flesh.
Place the roasted pumpkin flesh in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Individual pumpkins will vary in their water content. If your pumpkin is very dry, you can add a little bit of water to help puree it smooth.
You can use the puree now or freeze it. Place it in a zip-top bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and freeze flat for up to 3-4 months. I froze mine in 2 cup quantities.
Pumpkin Bread
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
12 ounce package chocolate chips Line the bottom two 9×5 in loaf pans with parchment paper.
Add the sugar and butter to a mixing bowl and beat them with an electric mixer until well combined.
In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Alternately add flour mixture, then milk to pumpkin mixture, starting and ending with flour. Fold in chocolate chips at the end.
Pour the batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
With the snow falling, the Girls and I made Halloween Sugar Cookies! I almost felt like we should be doing Christmas cookies 😂. On Saturday it was voting day for the BC election! The whole family got bundled up and went to our polling station to vote! On Sunday I wanted fall family pictures and SBean wanted to go to the pumpkin patch. We had to drive for a while to find a pumpkin patch without snow and a fall photo op rather than a winter one 😂 We ended up having a great day chasing the sunshine to Osoyoos for some beautiful October family pictures! Despite the chill in the air the Girls are always up for some ice cream and after dinner we prepped our pumpkins and enjoyed a stunning sunset.
Now we are going to sit back and allow nature to take it’s course and set the world back on its trajectory to normal 😊🤞🤞😂.
