Pumpkin Fun

It was great to have Josh home from college this weekend, along with his girlfriend, Liz, for Baylor's fall break.  Josh sent his special marinade recipe ahead of time since he wanted to have steaks when they arrived.   :)  It was excellent! 

Orange-Soy Steak Marinade
2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed or minced (preferably minced finely)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Marinade Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a 1-gallon heavy plastic (Ziploc) food bag.
2. Add 3-4 premium steaks of your choice.
3. Seal bag and set in a bowl.
4. Place in refrigerator and chill preferably 24 hours or overnight- turning steaks occasionally

Josh also prepared his "famous" grilled asparagus along with baked potatoes and french bread with sage/oregano butter.  For dessert, we tried a recipe that Nana (my mom) sent, which sounded perfect for Autumn - "Pumpkin Pie Cake".  We loved it, but renamed it "Pumpkin Sludge" due to the texture!  We enjoyed it all weekend, and Josh and Liz took the rest of it back to Waco.  YUM!!  I didn't think about taking pictures, but I thought I would share the recipe anyway. 

Pumpkin Sludge 

2 cans pumpkin (15 oz each) 

4 eggs 

1 can (13 oz) evaporated milk 

1 1/4 cups sugar 

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup melted margarine

1 cup pecans 

Whipped Cream (Optional) 

Directions:
1. Combine pumpkin, eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; beat well 

2. Pour into ungreased 9x13' pan.  Sprinkle DRY cake mix over the mixture in pan. 

3. Pour melted butter over cake mix; sprinkle with nuts. 

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour; cool. 

5. Serve and top with whipped cream if desired. 

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day, so we decided to visit the Pumpkin Patch at the Old Time Christmas Tree farm close by.   We enjoyed a hayride through the farm and had fun picking out pumpkins.   

We also took Liz to enjoy a true Texas fall specialty - the homecoming supply store. :)  The mums are incredible! No other location does mums like Texas and you have to see them to believe the size!  Tons of trinkets jingle on the ribbons and we enjoyed viewing all the choices!  They are beautiful and HUGE!!! I enjoyed creating the mums when the boys were in High School for homecoming!   I do miss that part - a little bit! :)

We went to Willies Icehouse (where Josh worked over the summer) for dinner, and sat outside on the patio, enjoying a burger and time together.   Josh and Liz finished the day by carving their pumpkins, along with a game and a movie.    

Josh cut out the BU (Baylor University) logo on his pumpkin and Liz created a smiley face complete with a bow.  In a household of boys, we’ve never had a pumpkin with a bow!  How fun!!  We added candles, and the pumpkins shone with lots of character on our kitchen island!   They did a great job!!  

On Sunday, we went to Cracker Barrel after church to enjoy a country breakfast.  Shopping at the mall (spending a birthday gift card at Chicos!) proved to be a fun day!  

This was my favorite picture of all! 

Happy Fall, Ya'll!!