roasted

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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If I were a good blogger who thought more than a day in advance I would’ve posted this weeks ago so you’d have time to plan and make these when you carved your pumpkin.  I’m not a good blogger, I’m a foggy headed mommy.  So here’s a post about pumpkin seeds that no one is going to use…

You’ve likely already thrown your seeds or roasted them if you’ve already carved your pumpkin.  But if you’re carving your pumpkin today or tomorrow, then you’re in luck and you’ll have pumpkin seeds to roast!  Or you could go buy another pumpkin, scoop out the goo, carve another jack o lantern and roast some seeds.  And if you live in Houston you might need to replace the pumpkin that’s rotting on your porch anyway thanks to 80 degree temps and high humidity in OCTOBER.  Why do I live here?

pumpkinseeds

These pumpkin seeds are very simple and straightforward.  Wash and dry your seeds (preferably overnight), toss in melted butter and spices, and roast in the oven.  Nothing fancy.  I’ve seen so many variations, from buttermilk ranch to salted caramel.  People are so creative!  I thought about trying something out of the ordinary, but ultimately decided to stick with something simple and something nostalgic.  I remember roasting seeds as a kid, and this is what we’d do, although maybe with just salt a pepper or seasoning salt.  I made my own little mix of spices for these seeds.  You could easily adapt this with the spices you like.  Happy carving, happy snacking and Happy Halloween!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, washed and dried
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F
  2. In a bowl toss pumpkin seeds with butter and spices to evenly coat.
  3. Pour the seeds out onto a rimmed baking sheet (lined wish parchment for easier clean up).
  4. Roast for 15-20 minutes, shaking the pan every 5 minutes to make sure the seeds are evenly roasted.  The seeds are done when they just begin to brown, but I like mine a little darker so I often go a minute or 2 more.
  5. Cool and store in a sealed container up to a week.

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

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Roasted vegetables are fall perfection.  Anytime of the year perfection for me, really.  But fall and winter seem to be better for the rich and warm flavors and the delicious caramelization of the veggies that takes place in the oven.  One of my favorite things about them is their versatility.  You can use your favorite vegetables.  My favorite combination includes brussels sprouts, sweet potato, onion and cauliflower.  I can’t think of a better side dish, can you?  If you’re still planning your Thanksgiving menu, consider roasting a big tray of vegetables.  You can do all of your prep, including tossing with the oil and salt, the night before.  Refrigerate and roast right before dinner.

After starting this lovely dish in the crock pot I started thinking about what we would eat with it.  I decided on brown rice and salad.  But then I remembered that we had broccoli and cauliflower already cut up and just waiting to be transformed into something magical.  I was honestly pretty worried about roasting the broccoli with my normal method.  I’ve done it before and felt like the ends got too blackened and crunchy, even for me.  So I looked up a recipe for roasted broccoli and found this from Ellie Krieger.  As luck would have it, this particular recipe uses broccoli and cauliflower.  Perfect.

We loved these.  I ate the remainder of them for lunch the next day straight from the fridge.  One of the reasons they were so good is the garlic.  I smashed whole cloves and mixed them in with the vegetables.  If you cut the garlic too small, it burns.  I learned that lesson the hard way!  The garlic mellows enough through the cooking process to not be an unwelcome addition to your bite.  Cooking the vegetables covered allows them to steam before roasting, which keeps the broccoli from burning on the tips and cooking unevenly.  I will probably try this method with my normal line up of vegetables the next time I roast them.  However, I think you could get by with less covered steam cooking, maybe 20 minutes covered and 30-40 uncovered?  I’ll mess with that and see how it goes.

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

From Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

  • 1 small head cauliflower (2 pounds), cut into florets
  • 2 large stalks broccoli (1 pound), cut into florets
  • 1 head garlic, broken into cloves, peeled and smashed but still intact
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Place cauliflower and broccoli into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, toss with the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1/2 hour.
  4. Remove the foil, stir and cook for 30 to 40 minutes more, until vegetables are tender and nicely browned, stirring occasionally.