Happy Halloween!

 

I love Halloween. It is such a fun holiday. I love dressing up in costumes, and especially seeing all of the kids in their costumes. I love the fall weather. Oh, and I love getting creative with my food.

 

Above: String cheese witch's fingers. All you need is string cheese, spreadable cream cheese, and sliced almonds. Make some little slices in your cheese with a knife (you won't be simply making cut marks. You will have to take out tiny slits, otherwise the marks won't be visible). Then put a small dab of cream cheese on the end and place a sliced almond on top. We found this on Our Best Bites here.

 

Above: Our skeleton veggie man (thanks for the idea, Facebook!).

Skeleton Veggie Man with Dip

Ingredients:

Favorite dip (we used a packet of Ranch dressing mixed in with a container of sour cream)

Kale or lettuce for the hair

Sliced olives for the eyes

Celery for bones

Sliced cucumber for the backbone

Baby carrots for bones

Sliced red bell pepper for ribs

Sliced mushrooms for pelvis

Cauliflower florets for hands and joints

Broccoli florets for feet

Cherry tomatoes for feet (I forgot to use these)

Sugar snap peas for bones (we didn't use these, but they were used on the Facebook skeleton in place of the second piece of celery for the leg bones)

Directions:

Make dip. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Form skeleton body as shown in the picture. Create a second veggie plate with all of the extra/leftover veggies that you don't use in the skeleton.

Place dip in a round bowl and place kale/lettuce in the dip to resemble hair. Place olives in dip to resemble eyes. Loosely cover and refrigerate separately, until ready to serve.

Refrigerate vegetables until ready to serve. Just before serving, position dip and serve.

Source: We found this on Facebook. It came from a blog called Feeding Four Little Monkeys. You can find the original post here.

 

Above: I saw this in a Kraft recipe book years ago (they served the octopus on top of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese). You simply cut the bottom of the hot dog to form 8 tentacles, and then you pop it in a pot of boiling water. Cook it for a few minutes; until the tentacles begin to curl.

 

Above: Worms. Similar to the octopus above, slice your hot dogs into thin strips, pop them into some boiling water for a few minutes; until they curl. You can even stir in some heated barbecue sauce to turn these into slimy worms. We decided not to because we didn't want the kids to get super messy.

 

  

Mummy Dogs

Ingredients:

Hot dogs

Crescent dough (the refrigerated tubes of seamless crescent dough sheets worked really well)

Mustard

Condiments, for serving

Directions:

You can cut the hot dogs in half or leave them whole. I cut mine in half. Cut crescent dough sheets into strips (about 1/4" wide). Wrap the tops and bottoms of the hot dogs. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven until crescent dough is nicely browned; 15-25 minutes.

Using a small bowl of mustard and a toothpick, place two dabs of mustard on each hot dog to resemble eyes.

Serve with additional mustard and ketchup, if desired.

Source: We found this on Our Best Bites here.

Notes: These were a hit with both the kids and the adults.

 

Black Halloween Punch

Ingredients:

1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened grape soft drink mix

1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix

2 cups white sugar

3 quarts cold water

1 liter ginger ale

Directions:

To make a frozen hand, wash a disposable glove, fill with water, seal with a rubber band, and freeze.

Stir together grape soft drink mix, orange soft drink mix, sugar and water until solids are dissolved. Combine with chilled ginger ale just before serving. Dip the frozen hand briefly in warm water, then peel off the glove. Float the prepared hand in the punch bowl for a ghastly effect.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Kathleen. You can find it here.

Notes: This was really good. Just be sure to add the water, because otherwise, it will be way too sweet!

 

Above: Chili topped with cheese slices that we cut into pumpkin shapes with a cookie cutter. We also served our chili with cornbread. We originally posted this chili recipe here, but it is also below, for your convenience.

Natalie Holbrook's Slow-Burn Chipotle Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground sausage
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced green pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, with liquid
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle-flavored Tabasco sauce, or more to taste
Salt, to taste
Brown sugar, to taste
Water, optional

Favorite toppings such as shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro

Directions:

Brown the ground beef and Italian sausage together. Drain.

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 8-12 hours. Adjust seasoning, sweetness, and thickness as desired with salt, brown sugar, and water.

Source: This came from my friend, Natalie Holbrook, who lives in my ward and neighborhood. She submitted this to our ward chili cook-off. She and her friends also have a food blog of their own. You should check it out! You can find more of her yummy recipes on her blog: Cookbook Junkies.

Notes: This is good stuff! Definitely crave-worthy! Probably one of the best chili recipes I have ever, ever tried. Oh, I could go for a bowl of this right now. I added 1/2 cup of brown sugar. You can add up to 1 cup of water; just add water until you reach your desired thickness (or skip the water altogether if you want your chili on the thick side).

 

 

Sugar Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 egg

Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Food color, if desired

Candy sprinkles, if desired

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 9-inch square pan with cooking parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat cookie mix, 1/2 cup butter, and the egg with electric mixer on medium speed until a soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In medium bowl, beat powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter, the whipping cream and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Stir in food color, if using, until well blended. Spread frosting over baked cookie bars. Top with candy sprinkles. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

Sources: Betty Crocker website. You can find it here.

Notes: I would suggest using the parchment paper, because these were really hard to get out of the pan. Once we got them out though, they were fantastic! Be careful not to overcook them. You want these to be soft and chewy, not crunchy.

No Bake Cookies and Cream Bars

Ingredients:

One 16 oz package Oreo Cookies

5 cups large marshmallows

4 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Butter an 8x8-inch baking pan. Line the baking pan with parchment paper, letting the paper extend up two sides of the pan, and overhang slightly on both ends. Butter paper; set pan aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process Oreos into fine crumbs; set aside.

In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in ground Oreo Cookies until combined. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Using a piece of waxed paper, press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Cool. Cut into squares. Best if served the same day.

Source: Picky Palate. You can find it here. Also found on Sweet Pea's Kitchen here.

Dirt 'n' Worms Chex Mix

Ingredients:

4 cups Chocolate Chex cereal

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

8 chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped

2 cups gummy worm candies

Directions:

In large microwavable bowl, place cereal.

In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter uncovered on High 1 minute. Stir in pudding mix. Pour over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Microwave uncovered on High 2 minutes. Stir in sandwich cookies and candies. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

Makes 12 servings (1/2 cup each)

Source: Betty Crocker. You can find it here.

A Little Slab'll Do Ya

Anyone out there have home grown apples that they need to use up? Well, my mom and sister-in-law did. I picked a few and here is one of the things I made with them.

Apple Slab Pie

Ingredients:

Pie:

1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons apple pie spice or ground cinnamon
9 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (9 medium)

Streusel:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove pie crusts from pouches. On lightly floured surface, unroll and stack crusts one on top of the other. Roll to 17x12-inch rectangle.

Fit crust into ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, pressing into corners. Fold extra crust even with edges of pan.

In large bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and apple pie spice. Stir in apples to coat. Spoon apple mixture into crust-lined pan.

In medium bowl, mix Streusel ingredients, cutting in butter with fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over apples.

Bake 33 to 38 minutes or until crust is golden brown, filling is bubbling, and streusel is browned. Cool on cooling rack 45 minutes before serving.

Source: Pillsbury website. You can find it here.

Notes: This was really good. It was just as much work as making an apple pie (because, let's face it, it takes a long time to peel and slice apples), but much easier to control the portion size this way. Really tasty stuff! Plus, this is great to make for a crowd.

More Pasta Salad

Pasta is my favorite comfort food. I will take it in any form. Pasta salad is always a good form to go with!

Chef John's BLT Pasta

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2/3 cup creme fraiche
2 cups ditalini pasta
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
4 cups baby arugula, coarsely chopped
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, or to taste (optional)

Directions:

Pour olive oil into a heavy skillet over medium heat, add bacon, and cook until almost crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Turn off heat. Hold a paper towel with tongs and mop up excess bacon grease with the paper towel, leave about 2 teaspoons bacon grease in the skillet.

Stir minced garlic and lemon zest into bacon in the skillet and let cook in residual heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir creme fraiche into bacon mixture.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and stir in 2 cups of ditalini. Cook till tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and add pasta to the skillet. Stir pasta thoroughly into bacon and creme fraiche mixture.

Return skillet to medium heat. Add tomatoes; cook and stir until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Mix in arugula, stirring until wilted, about 30 seconds, and turn off heat.

Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir again and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Chef John. You can find it here.

Notes: We didn't use ditalini pasta. We used penne. This was really good. A great summery side dish.

Not Your Same Old Pasta Salad

 

This pasta is very summery, and definitely on the sweet side, but it is a very nice side dish, and a different way to use your garden fresh cucumbers.

Kim's Summer Cucumber Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package bow tie pasta
1 large cucumber, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the bow tie pasta at a boil, stirring occasionally, until cooked through yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse several times with cold water until pasta is cool.

Stir pasta, cucumber, onion, and dill in a salad bowl. Whisk vinegar, sugar, water, vegetable oil, mustard, salt, and black pepper in a separate bowl until sugar and salt have dissolved. Pour dressing over the pasta mixture and toss lightly to coat with dressing. Let chill for 2 hours before serving.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by mmihlbachler. You can find it here.

Notes: I liked this. I personally would have cut down the sugar a little, but you can do that to your own taste. Very refreshing and summery!

Strawberry Shortcake Makeover

Don't you just love strawberry shortcake? It is so summery. So, why not re-imagine things and put the flavors into a different form? Well, here you go.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury Ready To Bake refrigerated sugar cookies
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 tablespoon)
4 oz frozen (thawed) whipped topping (half 8-oz container)
1 3/4 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper.

Remove cookies from package; place cookies on cookie sheet. bake 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack; cool completely. (To speed up process, refrigerate cookies about 1 hour).

Meanwhile, line 11x7-inch pan with cooking parchment paper.

Once cookies are cool, place in food processor. Cover; pulse a few times until all cookies are crumbled. Reserve 1 cup of the cookie crumble. Pour remaining cookie crumbs into pan; press in bottom of pan to form crust.

In mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy and smooth. Add gelatin; stir to combine.

With rubber spatula, fold whipped topping and 1 cup of the chopped strawberries into cream cheese mixture. Spread over cookie crust. Top with remaining chopped strawberries.

Sprinkle reserved 1 cup cookie crumbs evenly over dessert; gently press with fingers. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

To serve, cut into 5 rows by 3 rows to make 15 bars, or 6 rows by 3 rows to make 18 bars.

Source: Kraft recipes. You can find it here.

Notes: You could use any package of refrigerated sugar cookies. Just slice them and bake them according to package instructions. Also, this isn't a cookie bar that you are going to be able to pick up and walk around with as you nibble on it. These were pretty fragile for us and crumbled easily, but holy cow, they were tasty. Serve it in bowls or on small plates and plan to eat these with a fork or spoon, and you will be set.

Even More Spuds? Yes!

This time, I am not sharing another potato salad recipe, but another great comfort food method of serving potatoes...mashed, of course! Oh, and let's throw them in a slow cooker this time too, for good measure!

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

5 pounds red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon minced garlic, or to taste
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the potatoes, garlic, and bouillon until potatoes are tender, but firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, reserving water. In a bowl, mash potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, adding reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

Transfer the potato mixture to a slow cooker, cover, and cook on Low for 2 to 3 hours. Just before serving, stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by BWAYE. You can find it here.

Notes! Good stuff. Also, so nice to have these made ahead rather than rushing to get them done with all of your other dishes for dinner.

More Spuds, Part 2

I love potatoes! I just posted a couple of potato salad recipes...but here is one more!

Creamy Bacon Cheddar Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 lb. red potatoes (about 4 potatoes)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons ranch dip, dressing, and recipe mix
1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits
1 cup diced green onions
Salt and pepper, to taste (my addition)

Directions:

In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20-30 minutes, until fork tender. Strain potatoes and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together mayo, sour cream, dressing mix, and milk. Add cheese, bacon bits, green onions, and stir.

Peel the skin off the potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Add potatoes to the dressing mix and gently stir until combined.

Makes 10 half cup servings.

Source: Kraft recipes. You can find it here.

Notes: This was really good. Comfort food at its finest. It tastes like a loaded baked potato, for sure...the only thing that was missing was that it needed salt and pepper (which was not called for in the recipe). I would suggest adding salt and pepper to your taste.