Halloween Fun 2011

The last two weeks have been crazy at the Westfall house.  It was filled with two Halloween parties, two birthday parties, two school Halloween parties, a school party prep night, Dan working a lot (but being able to be around for the fun stuff), pumpkin carving, doctor appointments, trick or treating and it was all in addition to our regular insanity.  I am pretty tired today.  It was a lot of on the go for me but I really enjoyed our family time together. 

Dan was able to go with us to a family Halloween party on Saturday.  We all dressed up and had fun celebrating with our friends.  The kids thought it was awesome that Dan and I were wearing costumes too!

We carved pumpkins like we do every year.  Somehow I ended up carving Emma's which of course she picks the more complicated design.  We enjoyed hanging out together though and the kids were excited about the finished product.

Emma digging in to get all the insides out.

 Dawson making his "gross" face.

 Emma and her kitty design.

 Our pumpkins all aglow on Halloween night.

The day of Halloween I made krautbugers for dinner.  It is one of our favorite "fall" meals.  Here is the recipe if you want to try it out yourself.  It is a little time consuming but completely worth the effort.  They also freeze wonderfully!

Krautburgers

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)

2/3 white sugar

1 1/2 TB active dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

5-6 cups all purpose flour

1.5 lbs. ground beef

1 small white onion, diced

1 TB ground mustard (do not leave this out) 

1 small head of cabbage, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup butter (melted)

To make dough: In a large bowl, mix the sugar and yeast in warm water.  Allow yeast to proof until foamy (about 10 minutes).  Mix in salt and oil.  Mix in flour, one cup at a time until a soft dough has formed.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.  Place in a well-oiled bowl and turn to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in size (approximately 1 hour).  On a lightly floured surface, punch down dough and knead for 2-3 minutes.  Divide dough into balls (about the size of a lime).

To make filling: In a large pot, brown ground beef and onion. Drain.  Stir in salt and pepper, ground mustard and shredded cabbage.  Continue cooking until cabbage is tender (approximately 7-10 minutes).  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll each bread piece out into a 5" square.  Place about a 1/3 cup of filling into each square.  Bring up sides and pinch together.  Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet and allow to rise 10 minutes.  Bake krautburgers in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and immediately brush kraut burgers with melted butter.

***

We had a great time getting ready for trick or treating.  Emma decided to be a witch and wanted me to paint her face green.  She was worried that people would think that she was a real witch with her green face.  She decided that they would know it was fake because she didn't have a broom.  Silly girl!

Dawson ended up going as a football player this year.  He didn't like having his face all painted like Emma did so instead of Darth Maul he went as a Bears football player.

 At the family Halloween party Aubrey dressed up as a mouse but it was a little big and poor girl could hardly see out of the hood.  So on trick or treat night we dressed her up as a little bumblebee.  This was Emma's costume when she was this age.  Aubrey was such a cute bee! 

After we walked around the neighborhood we checked out the stash that the kids scored (way more candy then they will ever be able to eat) and then snuggled down together to watch Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.  I am so thankful for the time that we had together and all the memories that we are making.  God has truly blessed us.