MAD JACK (10/29/08)

Many might think "Mad Jack" is my third son Jackson....there are times we think that ourselves. :-) A couple of years ago the boys saw a jack a lantern on the internet and his name was "Mad Jack" so every year they want to carve out "Mad Jack" instead of a jack a lantern. Jackson loves it because he has the same name as him. This year they wanted Mad Jack to have fangs since the two older boys were vampires for Halloween.

Gavin has a raw pumpkin seed in between his teeth that was dropped on the floor. Yum yum.

I had to put this picture of Jack on here because he wanted nothing to do with pulling out the pumpkin guts like the rest of the boys. All he cared about was eating the cupcakes when the carving was done. He sat on the table and gaurded those cupcakes til it was time to eat them. I had to keep an eye on him or he might be the only one to get cupcakes that night.

The boys favorite part is turning off all the lights in the house and watching Mad Jack glow.

My favorite part is eating the pumpkin seeds. The boys do enjoy that too. Every year it seems I try a different recipe. This year I found a keeper. Sweet and Spicy. The boys loved them(although they do love Hot Cheetos too). The website I got it from had all sorts of different seasonings. Here's the recipe if anyone wants to try it out next year:

1. Do a mediocre job of separating the goo and guts from the actual seeds. Don’t rinse them or they won’t taste as good.

2. Add salt to the seeds. I suggest 1 teaspoon for every 2 cups of seeds.

3. Add the melted butter. I use 1 tablespoon.

4. Mix the salt (and/or seasonings), melted butter and seeds and then spread them on the baking sheet.

5. Roast them at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Stir them halfway through.

6. Take them out and eat them.

Pumpkin Seed Seasoning Ideas:

Sweet and Spicy: quarter cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and half teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Curry: 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt

Spicy Garlic: 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, half teaspoon cayenne pepper Southwest: 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, half teaspoon cayenne pepper

Roasted pumpkin seeds will keep for about a week in the fridge.