What happened to fall?

I knew it was coming. It's inevitable. Every year it rears its ugly head and there's nothing you can do to escape it, unless you live on some beautiful tropical island, and I don't. I live in Utah. A place that gets enough snow to hold the Winter Olympics, literally.

Don't get me wrong, I love having four seasons. Fall is super fun, with the leaves changing colors and making that pleasant crunching sound under some cute boots. Scarves and gloves and a wide assortment of pumpkin desserts that just make your heart smile. Summer, with its endless opportunities to go outside and have some fun, tan, and have BBQs with family and friends. Not to mention watching fireworks, hiking, and going to the lake. Then there's spring. Flowers and trees reawaken, the sun tries its best to reclaim your love, and fresh and clean smells makes the outside irresistible. And of course, winter. The happiness that the holidays bring, snow falling softly, amazing smells of sweets fill the air. They're all wonderful. But as I'm sitting on the couch, wearing sweats, and huddled under a big blanket I think, "What the heck! It's only October 6th and it snowed today!"

Honestly, I'm a little bitter about the whole thing (it didn't help that one of the students pulled the fire alarm today and I got to stand outside in the rain, which turned to hail and then snow). Sure, it didn't stick but that's beside the point. My toes are frozen and I should have another month before I have to worry about those kind of things.

On the bright side, the dreary weather means I can now make and bake all of those cold weather dishes I love so much! Hurray for soups!!! One of Kyle's new favorite meals is Dinner in a Pumpkin. Yep, it's exactly what it says. You throw deliciousness into a pumpkin, bake it, and eat the whole thing, pumpkin and all. The recipe can be found at the bottom of the post!

 No peeking!

Can't wait to start carving pumpkins!!!

Dinner in a pumpkin:


1 medium pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/4 Yoshida's sauce (usually found at Costco)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 14 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 - 2 c. cooked rice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut off top of the pumpkin and thoroughly clean out pulp and seeds. In a large skillet saute onions in vegetable oil until tender. Add meat and brown. Drain any drippings from skillet and add Yoshida's sauce, brown sugar, and soup. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice. Spoon mixture into clean pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin on a baling sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Place pumpkin on a plate, skin the pumpkin and dig in!