Pumpkin Pie, Oh My!

As previously mentioned, I love pumpkin and apple pies. Today I’ll be showing you one of my favorite pumpkin pies to make with my family. Pumpkin pie is one of the most traditional foods you can eat on Thanksgiving and my family is VERY into traditions. Every Thanksgiving we visit Grandma and Papa Beach on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California. All my cousins live in the area so they aways join us!  We have turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and my Papa always has to have creamed onions - which I don't care for too much!  He is always in charge of the turkey every year and he is the one who carves the turkey right before dinner. He makes an extra one for leftovers for the next days lunch! My dad always hangs around while he is carving and steals bites before dinner.  

My mom is in charge of decorating the table and we always bring fall leaves from Park City to sprinkle on the table.  My cousin, Colleen, and I make place cards, assign everyone their seats, and write the menu on a big chalkboard. When the rest of the family has arrived, all the cousins play games while the aunts and uncles watch football.  When we are all seated around the table, we go around and everyone says what they are thankful for in their lives.  At then end of the meal, we all enjoy pumpkin pie with chipped cream and apple pie a la mode.  It is the best way to end a great day celebrating family and all of our blessings.  Hope you have a Thanksgiving to look forward to as well this year!  

Photo thanks to: Pauper's Corner

RECIPE:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin

1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

Whipped cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
POUR into pie shell.
BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

IT'S FALL Y'ALL!

Emigration Canyon
Photo Provided by PC Premier Property

Fall is my all time favorite season of the year. I love the weather, the leaves, and especially the food. A couple of years ago, I moved here from Phoenix, Arizona. aka the city with no seasons. All year round it looked the same and the only seasons we experienced were hot, hotter and hottest. 

Coming from a city with no beauty, Park city is very appealing to the eye. Everything is available to us and right at our fingertips. I feel that most kids living here take this beauty for grated. They know no different than having awesome warm green summers, gorgeous orange and yellow mountains during the fall, pristine white winters and beautiful flowers everywhere during the spring.  .I’ve lived here since 4th grade and ever since I arrived, I do not take any of the beauty of seasons for granted.   I love everything this town has to offer during ALL the seasons.

Everything about Fall is breathtaking. From the foods to the views! My absolute favorite thing about fall is Thanksgiving! I love seeing my family at the beach and making a menu every year with my cousins. Not to mention the pies aren’t too shabby either. Another thing I love about fall are the clothes! Sweaters, socks, and scarves are my favorite things to wear and that’s just what the fall weather means! Last but certainly not least, I can never wait to carve and decorate pumpkins. Every year all the kids decorate their own pumpkins and my dad then roasts the pumpkin seeds to make a yummy treat to snack on for the rest of the week.  So, if you get a chance “Fall” in love with Park City and come visit during this amazing season.

Top 10 of my favorite things about Fall!

(in no particular order)

1. Homemade Pies

2. Sweaters

3. Thanksgiving

4. Candles

5. Pumpkin Everything

6. Scarves

7. Fall Festivities

8. Thick Socks

9. Carving Pumpkins

10. Warm Apple Cider

Park City vs. Morgan

We’re in the midst of Fall, which means school has begun and volleyball season has started and it’s nearing an end. 

Photo Courtesy of Dani U.

I’m currently playing for the Park City High School volleyball program on the Freshman and Junior Varsity teams. As it is stressful to balance 2 1/2 hour practices everyday, up to two games a week and school, but volleyball is one of my favorite things so I try my hardest to make it work.

Today, Park City will take on Morgan High School, one of the hardest teams to play against and currently ranked first in state. The last time we played Morgan, we lost. Today, I’m not looking forward to maybe losing again against Morgan but I am looking forward to seeing some friends who currently play on their team. During  volleyball club season, I played for a team called Club V in Woods-Cross Utah. It was voted the best club in Utah and a place where all players from northern Utah come together to form some of the highest ranked teams. On my team, we had three girls from Morgan so I’m excited to see them again!

Today is our last game and the seniors last time ever playing a high school volleyball game. The gym is decorated with steamers and posters, nets are up, and game faces are on. Varsity has won every game up until we last played Morgan. Tonight we face them again hoping for a win on our home court. Today will be a very special day for all the seniors and a win will make it even better. 

I'll miss everyone on my team but in a way its bittersweet. I want to have a little more free time and time to do my homework but I also don't want to stop playing beside these girls.



Stay tuned to see how we did!