Halloween Recipes That the Kids will Love!

Rather you're throwing a big Halloween party with tons of guests or just doing a small family gathering of treats & goodies, I have some wonderful recipes in store from you.

I have made each and every one of these recipes at my house at a Halloween party (within the last couple of years) and they are all always a hit! I hope that you all enjoy them as much as we all have!

GOULISH PUNCH

WHAT YOU NEED:

2cups  boiling water

1pkg.  (8-serving size) JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin

2cups  cold orange juice

1bottle  (1 liter) seltzer, chilled

 Ice cubes

1pt.  (2 cups) orange sherbet, slightly softened

1  orange, thinly sliced

1  lime, thinly sliced

MAKE IT:

STIR boiling water into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in juice. Cool to room temperature.

POUR into punch bowl just before serving. Add seltzer and ice; stir.

ADD scoops of sherbet and fruit slices.

TIPS: Substitute 2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin for the 1 pkg. (8-serving size) gelatin.

Substitute club soda for the seltzer.

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MEATY MUMMY

Wrap a legion of scary mummies for a Halloween dinner or party appetizer. To make, skewer a purchased meatball and a 4-inch piece of summer sausage stick with a 6-inch wooden skewer. Combine 8 ounces of cream cheese and 1 teaspoon of purchased pesto. Spread some of the mixture over the meat skewer and wrap with cooked fettuccine noodles. For a more bulky body, spread with additional cream cheese mixture and wrap with another layer of cooked fettuccine. Add capers for eyes. Serve with pasta sauce for dipping.

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TOMBSTONE SANDWICHES

For a quick Halloween appetizer so good it comes from the graves, serve guests tombstone sandwiches. To make, cut chicken salad sandwiches into tombstone shapes, roll the edges in chopped pecans for a pebbly look, and serve from a graveyard covered in creepy cabbage. Then use mustard/ketchup to write 'BOO', 'RIP', or other halloween phrases on the bread.

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FROZEN GHOSTS

WHAT YOU NEED:

Bananas

White chocolate chips

Cool Whip (1 tub)

Milk chocolate chips (mini’s would be great)

Popsicle sticks 

MAKE IT:

Melt the white chocolate chips.

Whip in the Cool Whip.

Cut the bananas in half and peel them.

Gently place popsicle stick in banana and dip in mixture. (Be careful! If you move too quickly, the banana will break!)

Place on wax paper.

Add chocolate chip eyes.

Freeze and enjoy! 

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GHASTLY GOBLIN GRINS:

WHAT YOU NEED:

1pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2cup  packed brown sugar

1/2tsp.  vanilla

2large  apples, cut into quarters

1/4 cup  PLANTERS Slivered Almonds

MAKE IT:

BEAT cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla; mix well.

CUT thin wedge in peel side of each apple piece; fill with 1 tsp. cream cheese mixture. Insert 4 to 6 nuts in cream cheese mixture in each apple to resemble teeth.

SPOON remaining cream cheese mixture into serving bowl. Serve with apples for dipping.

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EYEBALLS ON A PLATE

WHAT YOU NEED:

Eyeballs on a Plate    

Small, round powdered donuts

Gummy Life-Savers

Brown M & M’s OR chocolate chips

Red gel icing

BUILD IT:

Place the donuts on a plate.

Add several stripes of gel icing for bloodshot eyes.

Put a gummy Life Saver in the center and a chocolate chip in the center of the Life Saver. 

Each recipe has been made by me at some point, however they are not my own ideas. Also, the pictures came from Google (as I did not think to take my own pictures when I made the treats).

A Night of New Recipes

Last night, Joshua and I decided that we were going to try out a couple of recipes that I came across on KraftRecipes.com. We had been talking about doing this for weeks, so it was finally time to just try something.

By the way, KraftRecipes.com is a wonderful way to figure out what to make for dinner - they have this neat 'form' thing that you type in up to three ingredients that you have (or would like to use) and you decide what you want to make (Appetizer, Main Dish, Drink, Dessert, etc).. Then you hit 'Get Recipes' and it shows a list of all sorts of recipes that include the ingredients that you chose!! This 'form' thing is one of the main reasons that I use their site so often to find great recipes!

The Appetizer:

STUFFED JALAPENO PEPPERS

what you need

2

Tbsp. KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing

1/2

lb. ground beef, cooked, drained

1/2

cup chopped tomato

2

Tbsp. PLANTERS Slivered Almonds

2

Tbsp. raisins (WE DID NOT USE THESE)

1

cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

12

medium jalapeño peppers

make it

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Heat dressing in medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Add meat, tomatoes, almonds and raisins; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; drain excess liquid. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cheese; set aside.

CUT each pepper in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds. Place peppers on foil-covered baking sheet. Fill each with about 1 Tbsp. of the meat mixture.

BAKE 10 minutes; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

These Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers were absolutely delicious! They were so easy to make and even better to eat! We will definitely be making these again soon.

The Main Dish:

BROCCOLI-CHEDDAR CHICKEN BUNDLES

what you need

8

 boneless skinless chicken thighs (1 lb.), pounded to 1/2-inch thickness

1

cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed, chopped

1

cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

4

slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled

1

pkt. SHAKE 'N BAKE Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix

make it

HEAT oven to 400ºF.

PLACE chicken, smooth-sides down, on work surface; top with broccoli, cheese and bacon.

ROLL up each chicken thigh tightly, starting at one short end; secure with wooden toothpicks. Roll in coating mix until evenly coated. Place, seam-sides down, in single layer in shallow foil-lined pan.

BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks before serving.

These were fantastic! I don't know why I didn't think of doing something like this sooner. I mean, we LOVE broccoli, cheddar, and chicken - why not roll it all into one great bundle?!

This post is not sponsored in any way. I wrote this up to show that KraftRecipes.com offers great, easy recipes for everyone.

A Night of Kabobs

Tonight, we decided that it was time for a little change when dinner came around. Although we get different varieties of things for dinners, we still hadn't had kabobs.. Not once. So that's ALL we had tonight. We used Kraftrecipes.com and searched Kabobs.

Appetizer:



Salsa Roll-Ups Recipe

Dinner:

Grilled Rainbow Chicken Kabobs Recipe

(For Joshua's liking, I added white onions)

Dessert:

Fruity Kabobs Recipe

(We also used grapes, which were a fantastic addition)

Everything was so simple and tasted incredible! We've already decided that Kabob Night will be a part of our meals. Maybe once or twice a month? I think so. The great thing is that the possibilities are endless!

While you're here, be sure to check out my Karmin G3 Salon Pro FLAT IRON ($130 value!) giveaway! Ends on 4/27!!

Easter Dessert

Super cute idea that I found when Googling ideas for a last minute dessert.

COOKIES & CREAM

Crack up your holiday guests with these cookie-and-ice-cream Easter eggs. The "shells" are made by molding sugar cookie dough over ovenproof custard bowls — a perfect job for kids.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Whipped cream
Lemon sherbert

MAKES 4 SERVINGS!

Instructions:
In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, corn syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour a little at a time. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill it until it is firm enough to roll.


Heat the oven to 375º. Wrap 4 ovenproof custard bowls in aluminum foil. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut out four 6-inch circles. Turn the bowls upside down and cover each with a dough circle, trimming the edges to create a cracked eggshell effect.


Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet, then set the inverted bowls on the rack. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are light brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Then gently remove the cookies from the foil and let them cool completely.


When you're ready to serve dessert, set each shell on its side on a plate. Add a big dollop of whipped cream spilling out of the shell and top with a scoop of lemon sherbert.

Baby Shower Fruit Salad

A friend of mine made this adorable 'stroller' for her cousins baby shower. I do believe that I will be doing the same for my baby shower. She said it's very simple. Held together by spears (which you could use anything of the sort).
»She cut the watermelon.
»Hollowed the watermelon out.
»Started putting the stroller together with slices of orange and using a strip of the watermelon as the handle!
»She then filled it up with all sorts of fruits (watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, and orange slices!)

Absolutely simple --> slightly time consuming, but simple, none the less.

I think it's adorable and look forward to putting one together for my baby shower! I hope it's a big hit!!


While you're here, be sure to enter my Karmin G3 Salon Pro FLAT IRON giveaway! ($130 value!) Ends 4/27

Baby Shower Stumped

I've been trying to figure out different things for a baby shower.. Inexpensive things for a baby shower. I know that my mom, mother-in-laws, sister, and sister-in-laws will all be full of ideas, as well, but I'd like to hear from all of you!

Here are the two things I've decided on:

Easy to make OREO Truffles!! However, I think I will be using WHITE baker's chocolate to melt down, and then add a touch of red food coloring to make them PINK!! You can find this recipe HERE!

Juicy Fruit JELL-O! We'll use similar cups so that a little goes a long way with the guests. I know it's nothing too different or out of the ordinary, but I think it's a cute classic that won't cost too much! You can find this recipe HERE!

If you can think of a fun, cute, inexpensive of the following, please let me know:

*Snacks

*Drinks

*Games

Vanilla Berry Parfaits with Meringue Cookies

Ingredients

Custard:
2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter

Remaining ingredients:
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon framboise (raspberry brandy)
1 2/3 cups fresh blackberries (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1 1/3 cups fresh raspberries (about 6 ounces)
1 cup fresh blueberries (about 4 1/2 ounces)
12 large fat-free vanilla meringue cookies (such as Miss Meringue), divided

Preparation
To prepare custard, place milk in a medium saucepan. Scrape seeds from bean; add seeds and bean to milk. Heat milk mixture over medium heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around the edge (do not boil); discard bean.

Combine sugar and next 3 ingredients (through egg yolks) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Gradually add hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan; cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter, stirring until melted. Pour into a bowl; cool completely. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Combine preserves and framboise in large bowl. Reserve 6 blackberries, 6 raspberries, and 6 blueberries. Fold remaining berries into preserves mixture.

Reserve 6 cookies. Place remaining cookies in a large zip-top plastic bag. Crush cookies using a rolling pin.

Spoon 1/4 cup custard into each of 6 tall glasses; spoon 1/3 cup berry mixture over each serving; top each serving with 1/3 cup crushed meringues, 1/4 cup custard, and 1/3 cup berry mixture. Top each serving with 1 blackberry, 1 raspberry, 1 blueberry, and 1 cookie.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 268 (21% from fat)
Fat: 6.3g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.6g)
Protein: 5.8g
Carbohydrate: 48.8g
Fiber: 3.7g
Cholesterol: 115mg
Iron: 0.6mg
Sodium: 125mg
Calcium: 149mg

Chocolate Heaven!

Later tonight, my parents are going to a Christmas Party! (Yes, it's the middle of January). Their neighbor (my parents' BEST friend) has grandchildren, which she hasn't had since before the holidays. So she's kept up her Christmas Tree, left stocking hung high, and been waiting for tonight for a long time! So my mom a Chocolate Heaven!!

This pie pan of yumminess is just that - YUM!

My mom baked some choclate brownies, cut off the tops of the brownies and replaced the tops with chocolate pudding, then placed sprinkles on top. But then.. uh-oh!! What to do with the tops of the cupcakes?! Can't let them go to waste!! Soo, she poured some chocolate pudding in a pie pan, placed the tops of the cupcakes on the pudding, then put some more pudding on top of the cupcakes.. and don't forget the sprinkles!

And there you have it: Chocolate Heaven!! (If you ask me, atleast..)

Aren't I lucky that she needed someone to give the cupcakes to? Mmmm. My own Chocolate Heaven!

Pain in the Pot.

Last night, Joshua and I were up watching Criminal Minds almost the entire night.. It was a marathon. YAYY! (Goodness, I love shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, etc..).
At any rate, Joshua decided that he would make us some grilled cheese and soup. I wanted tomato soup; it just doesn't seem right to eat grilled cheese with something else.
He went to the cabinet.. NO TOMATO SOUP?!?! Oh mann!
Then he found tomato sauce. Well, that can't be too different, right? Wrong.
We tasted it. It's much more salty and sour(ish) than tomato soup.
So, we decided we'll search Google to try and find a recipe for tomato soup using tomato sauce. We find a ton. But none of them are normal. They have wierd vegetables and herbs.. Nothing like Campbells creamy soup. I just wanted something yummy, not fancy.
We keep looking. Finally, something sounds about right.
16 oz Tomato Sauce
24 oz Milk
1 tsp Salt.
Eh, I'm nervous though. Salt? Did these people not taste the tomato sauce? Oh well. We'll try it - minus the salt. Uhggg. It was still too salty.
Now, let me explain something - my dad is a chef. We use to get invited to places just so that my dad would take over the kitchen. Seriously. I'm talking Weddings, Family get-togethers (no, not our family), group meetings, bar-b-ques.. Everything. So I'm no stranger to salt. Salt & Garlic are my two favorite cooking saviors! But dang. This stuff was too salty even for me.
We just couldn't make the soup work. Although Joshua liked it -- it still wasn't even remotely good to me. So I settled with two grilled cheese, extra cheese.
We tried. But to me, it just didn't work.
Either way, Joshua was my personal chef last night, a pleasant change. Thanks, Sweetheart.
Next grocery trip, buy ALL of the Tomato Soup!

Maple Mustard Ham Steak! yumm!

I know, I usually don't post recipes -- but I made this the other night and it was mouthwatering -- it literally made Joshua's mouth drop whenever he walked inside the house. Yummm, right? Oh yes!

What You Need:
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 ham steak (1 lb.)

Cooking it:

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Mix mustard, syrup and vinegar in small bowl; set aside.
GRILL ham steak 3 min. on each side. Brush with 1/4 cup of the mustard mixture; cook 1 to 2 min. more on each side or until heated through.
SERVE with the remaining mustard mixture.

If you want to Jazz It Up:
Add extra flavor by grilling over soaked hickory wood chips.
Use Your Broiler
Preheat broiler. Place ham on rack of broiler pan; brush with 1/4 cup of the mustard mixture. Broil, 4 to 6 inches from heat, 3 min. on each side or until heated through. Serve with the remaining mustard mixture.

Prep Time: 5 min
Total Time: 11 min
Makes: 4 servings

It really is super easy, and I'm tellin ya, it was fantastic! I'm not very big on ham -- but this was certainly something I'll try again!