Search Influence: Home of Master Pumpkin Carvers
October 31st, 2013 by
At Search Influence, we are a “Work hard, play hard” bunch! With it being the spooky Halloween season, a few of our account managers decided to get together to carve pumpkins! “Team Megan,” named for our Senior Account Manager, Megan Lindsey, left Search Influence promptly at 5:30pm on Thursday, October, 24th and drove straight to the nearest pumpkin patch.
After picking out the perfect pumpkins, we all headed back to Sarah’s house. Once we were there, Megan whipped up some delicious taco soup (recipe listed below). While the soup was simmering on the stove, we got to work on the carving.
Carving our pumpkins. From left to right, Erika Karas, Julie Simmons, Jordan Polhemus, Samantha Wright and Sarah Gallagher
Between stencils, steak knives, pumpkin carving kits and some patience we brought our pumpkins to life. On the top left you’ll see Jordan Polhemus’ pumpkin. In an attempt to carve a southern take on “BOO!”, she had carved “Boo Y’all!!” into her pumpkin. This turned out to look more like “Hoo Y’all!!” but it was fitting as we had two owls! Megan Lindsey’s pumpkin, in the middle left, might just take flight! Sarah Gallagher is our team “Wanna-Be-Hipster” and free handed a crescent moon and stars onto her pumpkin! #nostencil
Top right we have our other owl, carved by Samantha Wright. Below we have Julie Simmon’s ghost. By the way, this pumpkin was carved exclusively with a steak knife. Julie wasn’t wasting any time on tiny pumpkin carving tools! Finally, at the bottom right, you have my (Erika Karas’) headless man! #stencilrequired
After all of the pumpkins were carved, candles lit and pictures taken, we went back inside and roasted our pumpkin seeds. Between six pumpkins we made three types: cinnamon sugar, garlic, and salt and pepper!
Happy Halloween from Team Megan!
Megan’s Taco Soup Recipe:
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 cans pinto beans
1 can pink kidney beans
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes with chiles
2 cans diced green chiles
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese and green onions.
