Halloween Pt 1

So yesterday evening commenced the beginning of what promises to be a crazy Halloween weekend!  Last night I hollowed out my pumpkin in preparation for the Vancity HR Pumpkin Carving contest - an annual event of which Compensation has won the title several years in a row.

I love hallowing out pumpkins!

This year the Comp team chickened out, but luckily the Systems team still loves me and allowed me to carve with them.  Check out our amazing creations!

Bert & Ernie say Boo!

Hopefully we win!  The other teams did a great job of carving their pumpkins too.

The ER Good Money Pumpkin and the R&WFP Hedgehog

BDBR's Bad Money

Along with the pumpkin carving contest we had a huge feast with lots of yummy goodness!  My contribution was Caramel Corn made from scratch.  Here is the recipe courtesy of the Sing for your Supper and You'll Get Your Breakfast Blog.  This is a blog written by an opera singer from Dallas, Texas.  The recipe seemed to be a big hit!

Caramel Corn - Yum Yum!

Caramel Corn
6 quarts popped corn (I used about a cup and a half of un-popped popcorn) 
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cook brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat. Place popcorn in a large roasting pan or spread out over two baking sheets lined with greased foil. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes for about 45 minutes. Caramel corn will be crunchy (with no sogginess) when done. Let cool and break into pieces. Makes enough to serve a large crowd- approximately 10-12 people.