Trash Mix with Worms

Trash Mix with Worms
16 oz. pkg. candy corn
16 oz. pkg. pretzels
12z. pkg. caramel popcorn with cashews
15 oz. pkg. M&M's
12 oz. pkg. gummy worms
15 oz. pkg. banana chips
15 oz. pkg. dried mango
15 oz. pkg. dried pineapple
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Stir together all ingredients. Store in airtight container.

*I didn't add all the dried fruit to mine. Also, I couldn't find enough sour gummy worms, so I used some sour gummy bears too and called them mummies.

Dripping Blood on Glasses

Blood for drinking glasses
1/4 cup honey or corn syrup
red food coloring
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Combine honey or corn syrup with food colroing in shallow pan; mix until well blended. Dip rims of gobles into mixture one at a time, coating rims. Turn upright and let stand to allow mixture to drip down sides, resembloing blood. Place paper towel around base of glasses to catch drip. Serve with drink.

Happy Hallow-Tini

Happy Hallow-Tini
1/2 cup orange juice
2 oz. raspberry-flavored rum
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
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Fill a mixing glass or tumbler three-fourths full with ice. Add the orange juice, rum and Triple Sec; stir until condensation forms on outside of glass.

Strain into two chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with orange peel if desired. Serve immediately.

Pickeled Eyeball Punch

I couldn't find lychees, so I just followed the directions for the punch. It was a good punch, so maybe next year I order some lychees on Amazon.com and make it again.

Pickeled Eyeball Punch
24 maraschino cherries
24 whole lychees in syrup, drained
3/4 cup chilled sparkling water
3 cups chilled fruit juicy red punch
1 can (46 oz.) pineapple juice, chilled
3 cups chilled cherry 7Up
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Place 1 cheery in middle of each lychee to look like an eyeball. Place 1 lychee into each of 12 sections of 2 ice cube trays. Divide sparking water evenly among sections with lychees. Freeze at least 8 hours or until firm.

In punch bowl, stir punch, pineapple juice and 7Up. Just before serving, float ice cubes in punch.

Creepy Critters Cheesecake

Creepy Critter Cheesecake
CRUST
1-1/2 cups chocolate wafer, crushed
4 Tbsp. sugar
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
FILLING
2 packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1/2 cup sour cream
Yellow food coloring
RATS
8 large strawberries, stems removed
sliced almonds
1 container (7 oz.) dipping chocolate
1/2 cup black sanding sugar, or crushed chocolate wafers
Candy for eyes
Slivered almonds
Black licorice laces
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Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. (I used a 9-inch spring form pan.) In medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter; stir well. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom and sides of prepared pan. Bake 7-10 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly toasted. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

In another medium bowl with mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and making sure to scrape sides of the bowl. Add orange zest and sour cream; beat until just blended.

Add 4 drops yellow food coloring and stir well to blend. Remove 1/2 cup cheesecake batter and place into small bowl. Add 5 drops of yellow food coloring to the 1/2 cup batter and stir well. Spoon into zip-top bag.

Pour light yellow batter onto baked crust and smooth top. Snip very small corner from bag with darker yellow batter. Pipe random spots of batter on top of the tart in a variety of sizes to make the "cheese holes". Bake 30-35 minutes, or until lightly puffed and center is just set. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate cheese cake at least 2 hours before serving.

Meanwhile, line baking sheet with wax paper. Trim small piece from 1 side of each strawberry so they can rest horizontally on wax paper. Insert 2 sliced almonds (about 1 inch from pointed end of strawberry and about 1 inch apart) to make rat ears.

Follow heating directions for dipping chocolate. Insert fork into large end of strawberry. Holding strawberry on fork over container of dipping chocolate, spoon chocolate over  strawberry to coat. Allow excess chocolate to drip off, tapping fork lightly. Sprinkle with black sugar or cookie crumbs and transfer strawberry to prepared baking sheet. Add candies for the eyes, slivered almonds for the teeth, and brown candies for the nose. Refrigerate rats until ready to serves.

To serves, with toothpick, make hole in backside of strawberry and insert 1 end of 4-inch piece of black licorice for the tail. Place rats on top of and around cheesecake and serve.

*The recipe called for chocolate covered sunflower seeds. I couldn't find any, so I used red hots instead, but any candy that can look like an eye should be fine.

Monster Mash Bites

I wasn't going to include these in my Halloween dinner because they didn't look Halloweeny enough, but the recipe looked so good, I decided to do them anyways. They were DELISH!

Monster Mash Bites
4 cups instant mashed potatoes, cooled
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp. chopped chives
3-6 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumpled
6 eggs
1-3/4 cups plain bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
2 tsp. dry ranch dressing mix
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In large bowl, mix mashed potatoes, cheese, 2 Tbsp. chives, bacon and 1 of the eggs until blended. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls.

In shallow bowl, place bread crumbs. In another bowl, beat remaining 5 eggs. Coat potato balls with bread crumbs, then dip into eggs and coat again with bread crumbs.

In deep fryer, heat 2 inches oil to 375°. Fry potato balls, in batches, in hot oil 1 minutes to 1-1/2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

In small bowl, mix sour cream, 2 Tbsp. chives and the dressing mix. Serve warm potato bites with sauce.

Cheesy Crescent Ghosts

Cheesy Crescent Ghosts
1 can Pillsbury refrigerate crescent dinner rolls
1 cup shredded mozzarella or Colby-Montery Jack cheese.
Assorted sliced lives, as desired
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Heat oven to 375°. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray or line with cooking parchment paper.

Unroll dough on cutting board; separate into 8 triangles. From center of longest side to opposite point, cut each triangle in half, making 16 triangles. Shape each to look like ghost shape and place on cookie sheet.

Bake about 7 minutes or until slightly puffed and just beginning to brown. Sprinkle each ghost with cheese; add olives for mouth and eyes. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Meatloaf Mummies and Rats

This can be done with any meatloaf recipe; I used the one I blogged HERE. The sauce is optional for the mummies, but really good on the rats. I had some extra, so I served it on the side, but ketchup would be fine too.

Meatloaf Mummies
Additional ingredients needed:
1 can Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated seamless dough sheet
Mustard
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Heat oven to 350°. Spray pan with cookie spray. After mixing all ingredients for the meatloaf, shape meat mixture into 4 (6x2-inch) loaves. Taper ends of loaves to look like mummy shapes. Place in pan. Bake 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove dough from can; unroll on work surface or cutting board. Cut into 4 rectangles. With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 7 strips. Alternately cross 7 strips over each meat loaf to look like "bandages", stretching dough to completely cover meat loaf and tucking ends under loaf. About 1/2 inch from one end, separate "bandage strips" on top to let meat loaf show through for "face." Bake 17-20 minutes longer or until golden brown and meat thermometer inserted in center of loaf reads 160°. Add dots of mustard on each mummy face for eyes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Meatloaf Rats
Additional Ingredients:
Slice green olives
Sliced black olives
Shoestring potatoes
Sliced almonds
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Heat oven to 350°. After mixing ingredients for meat loaf, using portions about 4 inches in size, shape into oval loaves. Pinch one end of each oval to a point for face. Place in ungreased pan. Gently pour sauce over loaves.

Bake about 40 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in center of loaves reads 160°.

Garnish with green olives for eyes, black olive for nose, sliced almonds for teeth and shoestring potatoes for whiskers and tail.

Cheese Filled Eyeballs

Cheese Filled Eyeballs
2 lbs. ground beef
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 eggs, slightly beaten
8 sticks (1 oz each) string cheese
1 can (2/14 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce, heated
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Heat oven to 375°. Spray pans with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix beef, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and eggs. Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. Place on pans.

Cut each cheese stick into 6 pieces. Gently press a piece of cheese into each meatball.

Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center. Place olive slices over cheese on each meatball. Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Gummy Worm Punch

I was able to try several punches out of my Halloween magazines and they were all so delish. But this was defianetly the funnest one to do for Halloween with the frozen ring of gummy worms.

Gummy Worm Punch
4 cups unsweetened apple juice

4 cups orange juice
2/3 cup thawed lemonade concentrate
2 cups water
20 gummy worms
4 cups lemon-lime soda, chilled
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In a punch bowl, combine the apple juice, orange juice and lemonade concentrate. Pour water and 1 cup juice mixture into a 5-cup ring mold; add gummy worms. Freeze until solid. Meanwhile, refrigerate juice mixture until chilled.

Just before serving, add soda to juice mixture. Unmold ice ring by wrapping the bottom of the mold in a damp hot dishcloth; invert onto a baking sheet. Place worm side up in punch bowl. Yield: 3 quarts.

Frankenstien Jello Salad

Frankenstein Jello Salad
2 packages (6 ounces each) lime gelatin

2-1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup shredded coconut
12 orange jelly beans
6 red jelly beans
3 tablespoons frosting
12 miniature marshmallows
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In a bowl, dissolve gelatin in water. Pour into an 8-in. square pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Cut into six rectangles; place each on a plate. Decorate with coconut for hair, orange jelly beans for eyes an a red jelly bean for nose. Fill a small plastic bag with frosting; cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe a jagged smile on face. Place marshmallows on side of head for bolts.

The Great Pumpkin Brownie

 

The Great Pumpkin Brownie
1 package fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)

1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
Orange paste food coloring
16 green milk chocolate M&M's
22 yellow milk chocolate M&M's
13 orange milk chocolate M&M's
8 dark brown milk chocolate M&M's
20 pieces candy corn
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Prepare brownie batter according to package directions for fudge-like brownies. Spread on a greased 12-in. pizza pan to within 1 in. of edges.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Tint frosting orange; frost entire top of brownie. For stem, arrange green M&M's in a square pattern at top of pumpkin. For each eye, arrange 11 yellow M&M's in a triangle. For nose, arrange orange M&M's in a triangle. For mouth, place brown M&M's in a horizontal line; surround with candy corn, tips pointing out. Cut into squares to serve

Creepy Crawly Bugs

Creepy Crawly bugs
1 tube (11 ounces) refrigerated breadsticks

8 smoked sausage links or hot dogs
1/2 to 3/4 cup potato sticks
Ketchup and/or mustard
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Separate dough into strips. Unroll and cut eight strips in half widthwise; set remaining strips aside. Cut sausages in half widthwise. Wrap one piece of dough around each sausage, leaving the rounded end showing. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Place reserved breadsticks on baking sheet.

Bake at 350° for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove bugs to a serving plate and cool for 2 minutes.

Insert potato sticks into baked dough to resemble legs and antennae. Decorate with ketchup and/or mustard. Serve warm. Save remaining breadsticks for another use.

Ribbon Pumpkin Bread

Ribbon Pumpkin Bread
6 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
BATTER:
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
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For filling, combine the cream cheese, sugar, flour and egg whites in a bowl; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg, egg whites and oil. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, slat, cinnamon and cloves; add to pumpkin mixture. Stir in walnuts.

Divide half of the batter between two 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spread each with filling; top with remaining batter. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pretzel Pumpkin Grahams

I'm not a fan of pretzels, but these were so cute I HAD to make them. I hate our small town grocery stores, I couldn't find chocolate graham crackers, so I went with regular instead. It was just as good, but in the magazine, they look so much cuter on the darker colored graham crackers. I prefered the pumpkins filled in, but I ran out of candy coating.

Pretzel Pumpkin Grahams
12 whole chocolate graham crackers
1/2 pound white candy coating, chopped
24 miniature pretzels
Orange colored sugar or sprinkles
6 green gumdrops, cut into four lengthwise slices
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Cut graham crackers in half, making square. In a microwave, melt white candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip one pretzel in candy coating; let excess drip off.

Place on a graham cracker square. If desired, fill pretzel holes with candy coating. Decorate with orange sugar or sprinkles. For stem, dip the back of one gumdrop piece into candy coating; place above the pumpkin. Repeat. Let stand until set, about 30 mins.

Spooky Citrus Punch

I served this drink at my Pampered Chef party. By the end of the event, there wasn't a drop left. It was so good! It says the sugar is optional, so I made it without. After a quick taste test, I decided it was too tart and added the sugar. That made it much better.

Spooky Citrus Punch
1 can (12 oz.) frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup lemonade concentrate
2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar, optional
2 liters ginger ale, chilled
Food coloring of your choice, optional
ice cubes
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In a large punch bowl, combine the limeade and lemonade concentrates. Stir in water and sugar if desired. Stir in the ginger ale and food coloring if desired. Serve immediately over ice.

Goblin's Orange Popcorn

This month it was my turn to host book club.; I had chosen the book "Marley & Me" and thought it would be fun to watch the movie. Of course you have to have popcorn to watch a movie. I was browsing through my Taste of Home Halloween magazines and found this popcorn recipe and decided to try it. I colored my purple. It was so good that now I think any time I watch a movie, I should have a bowl of this stuff.
4 quarts popped popcorn

Goblin's Orange Popcorn
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 cup sugar
6 Tbsp. light corn syrup
Dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 drops yellow food coloring
4 drops red food coloring
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Place popcorn in a very large bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat. Stir in  vanilla and the food coloring. Pour over popcorn; toss to coat. Transfer to two 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 250° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight containers.

Black Cat Cookies

Black Cat Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
24 wooden craft or Popsicle sticks
48 pieces candy corn
24 red-hot candies
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In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs adn vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the cream mixture. Roll dough into 1-1/2 in. balls. Place 3 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Insert a wooden stick into each cookie. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cooke to form ears. For whisers, press a fork twice into each cookie.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until cookeis are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red-hot candies for noses. Remove to wire racks to cook.

Halloween Night Cookie Puzzle

Halloween Night Cookie Puzzle
1 tube (18 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Unblanched almonds
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 to 4 Tbsp. water
Assorted food coloring, decorating gels, sprinkles and candies
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In a large mixing bowl, combine cookie dough and flour. On a parchment paper-lined surface, roll dough into a 14-in x 11-in. rectangle. With Halloween cookie cutters, cut out puzzle shapes bud do not remove them. Slide a baking sheet under the parchment paper and dough. Chill for 5-10 minutes.

Remove shapes; place on an ungreased baking sheet. For handles, press the side of an almond into the center of each puzzle shape. Bake shapes at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are golden brown. While still warm, recut shapes with the same cookie cutters to form neat edges. (if cookies cool too quicly, return to oven until softened.) Remove to wire racks; cool.

Bake large rectangulr puzzle on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 12-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately recut the shpaes inside the puzzle to form neat edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup and water until smooth. Tint frosting with food coloring as desired. Frost puzzle and shapes; decorate with decorating gel, sprinkles and candies as desired. Place puzzle shapes inside puzzle.

Dracula Cookies

Dracula Cookies
6 hazelnut truffles
5 oz. white candy coating, chopped
1 green or red Fruit Roll-Up
6 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
1 can (6.4 oz.) black decorating icing
6 slivered almonds, cut in half
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Place truffles on a waxed paper-lined pan. Freeze for 10 minutes or until chilled. Meanwhile, in a small microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip truffles in coating to cover completely; return to pan. Refrigerate until hardened.

Cut Fruit Roll-Up into 2-1/2-in. x 1-1/2 in. strips. Reheat candy coating if necessary. Dip truffles in candy coating again; immediately place one on each cookie. Wrap a fruit strip around base of truffle for cape. Let stand until set.

Using decorating icing and a round tip, pipe hair, eyes and mouth on each. Insert almonds for fangs. Store in an airtight container.