Fall Festivities & Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I love my time away from school, work, and stress when I can relax & enjoy some time with my favorite guy.... my boyfriend!

We always spend quality time together on the weekends; and with the holiday season just beginning, there's lots of fun things out there on our "to-do" list!

Nothing better than making memories (& food) with your special someone, and enjoying every minute of it. :)

This weekend's adventure was the pumpkin patch. Neither one of us is a huge fan of Halloween, but it's our first together- so we wanted to do something festive and fun. I think it's so important to take the time to continue family traditions, & create some new ones too!


After a really nice lunch downtown, we went out to a giant rural pumpkin patch; the same one I grew up picking my pumpkins from each year as a kid. The weather was perfect, it wasn't too busy, & it was the perfect afternoon. We strolled around the farm in search of the perfect pumpkin, & came out victorious! :) 

Once we got home, it was time for carving~ we stuck with the standard Jack O'Lantern face for our first pumpkin together. He did the dirty work (cutting open & gut removal) and I did the carving. And, of course, we saved all those little pumpkin seeds for roasting the next afternoon! Keep reading for the super easy recipe :)

I hope you all are enjoying the season with your loved ones! The holidays always seem to fly by so quickly each year~ don't forget to stop & appreciate all the little moments.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper 

Directions:

1. Rinse your seeds so that they are "pumpkin gut"-free. 
2. Dry them as much as you can with a paper towel.
3. Toss with olive oil, salt, & pepper.
4. Spread out flat on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes, let cool, & enjoy!

*This is what we got from one pumpkin; feel free to multiply the recipe depending on how many seeds you've got!

P.S.~ I eat my seeds with the shell on... it's fiber right? Haha, but really- once they're all roasted & crunchy, they taste amazing! Hope you like 'em.