My six year old daughter for some reason loves to be friends with boys. And although she is a total "girlie girl" she is picking up on the boys "gross" ways. You know what I am talking about the way boys get a thrill out of burping and other bodily functions as well as, bugs and snails and puppy dog tails. Well, we have renamed some favorite cookie and candy recipes to be perfect for those Halloween parties where everything is of a sickening theme. So your next Zombie Crawl can be done just right with Oatmeal and Flies Cookies, Creepy Chocolate Spiders, and Monster Poop!Oatmeal and "Flies" Cookies
- 1 Cup of Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
- 3 Cups Quick or Old-Fashioned Oats
- 1 Cup of Flies-I mean Raisins!
Heat oven to 350 degrees then beat together butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt then mix well. Stir in oats and flies. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet then remove to wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 4 dozen.
Creepy Chocolate Spiders
- 1 Bag of Chow Mein Noodles
- 1 Large bag of Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- 1 Bag of Mini M&M's-preferably the Fall colored ones
Melt chocolate chips in microwave safe dish. Pour in chow mein noodles and mix gently until all covered well. Take 2 forks and place forkfuls on wax paper in about 2 inch wide mounds. Place 2 M&M's where there would be eyes. Dot some of the melted chocolate with a toothpick in the center of the M&M's for the pupil of the eyes. Let dry and store in airtight cool dry container. Makes a bunch!
Monster Poop
- 2 1/2 Cups of Semi-sweet Chocolate Morsels
- 1 Can of Eagle Brand Milk (Sweetened Condensed Milk)
- 1/2 Cup of Cocoa
- 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
- Fall colored M&M's
Melt chocolate chips together with milk. Mix thoroughly until well blended. Cool slightly until just able to handle. Roll by spoonfuls into log shapes the size of fingers. Mix cocoa and cinnamon in a shallow dish and roll logs in cinnamon mixture. Push in several M&M's into logs. Place in airtight cool dry container. Looks yucky but tastes YUMMY!!!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. This is due to the fact that is it the beginning of the roller coaster of holidays to come. I LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas and Halloween just seems to get it started. The parties are so much fun and dressing up is so much fun as well. Dressing up cocktails I find is just as intriguing as the costumes. Some of my favorites are Poison Apple Martini, Black Widow, and a Candy Corn Cordial. Please try these at your next costume party and enjoy the "glowing" rewards!
Poison Apple Martini- 2 Ounces Midori (Melon Liquor)
- 1 Ounce Sweet and Sour Mix
- Splash of Jagermiester ("poison")
Mix together Vodka, Midori, and Sweet and Sour with ice in a cocktail shaker until well blended. Pour into glass and splash with Jager and garnish with cherry.Black Widow- 1 Ounce Purple Grape Juice
- 1 Ounce Sweet and Sour Mix
- 1 Ounce of Chambord (Raspberry Liquor)
Mix together in cocktail shaker with ice until well blended. Pour into glass rimmed with green colored sugar. Garnish with black raspberries.Candy Corn CordialInfuse together for minimum 3 hours in airtight container.Together add the following to a shaker:- 1 Ounce of the infused Vodka
Blend together in shaker and pour into tall shooter or cordial and drop in 2-3 candy corns. Very sweet but de-lish!!!
Baked potatoes are great for chilly weather. There are so many ways to serve them. Top them with the traditional butter, sour cream, cheese, chives and bacon. Or spoon on some chili, cheese and onions. Try them with broccoli and cheese to get in that green veggie. Anyway you make them they are so comforting and yummy good! I took this regular comfort food and made it a little bit "party". The first time I made them it was for my mom's surprise b-day/house warming party. They were a hit!Baked Potato Spoons- Cubed Peeled Cooked Potatoes-I use Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Chopped Chives
- Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Cooked Crisp Crumbled Bacon
- Sour Cream-must use full fat kind
- Season to taste with garlic, salt, pepper OR I have used powdered Ranch dressing mix, too
- And Spoons-Plastic or Silver, depends on your party----50th Wedding Anniversary I would use silver.....Husband's Poker Party...plastic all the way-no bows!
I have used red plastic spoons and it looks great! I also tie on bows to each spoon so the guest feels each bite was prepared special for them. Black plastic spoons with a single pink ribbon is great for Breast Cancer Awareness Month or for an evening baby shower. High school football after parties you can use the school colors...see where I am going with this? The spoons are as much a part of this dish as the dish itself.Mash the cubed potatoes with a masher. I feel like the potatoes have more substance if left a little bit lumpy not creamed. Combine potatoes with the sour cream, bacon and cheese. Sprinkle the chives on after you scoop the potato mixture onto each spoon as a garnish. Make sure that the ribbon or whatever decoration is already on the spoons before you load them. Another thing to remember is have a neat container for the used spoons so the guests won't throw out your silver or won't be standing around looking for a trash or what to do with the spoons. I even put a sign on the container saying "Used Spoons". Keep the container freshly emptied so there is not more "trash" on the table than food. At a more formal soirée the spoons could be passed on a tray with a small container at the back corner of the tray for those that take, bite and toss the spoons. This idea can be done with SO MANY things...truly you can decorate a bite of anything to make it look appetizing enough to want to put it in your mouth. Try scooping a gooey brownie type cake with each spoon and then drizzling each spoon with caramel and chopped pecans. Or for a brunch place one mini vanilla wafer or granola in the bottom of the spoon then top with yogurt mixed with sliced strawberries and drizzle with honey. I could go on and on!Leave me a comment and tell me what you think or see how many ideas you can come up with. Put that on a spoon and eat it!!! Enjoy!
My first blog entry happens to fall in October. This is the month where all parties seem to start for the holiday season. There's Halloween parties and fall festivals and hayrides and football parties galore! My six year old daughter loves Halloween and really loves pancakes. My first recipe is a family friendly recipe that is easy and fun for the whole family. Our favorite way to start off the Autumn season is with Pumpkin Pancakes. We make the day into a pumpkin party and start it off with these mouth watering gems then off to the local pumpkin farm to get our own pumpkins to carve into Jack-o-lanterns for our front porch. I usually grab a couple pie pumpkins to make some homemade pumpkin soup as well. Pie pumpkins are the really small ones that are a deep orange and make the best soup as well as pies.1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder1 Tablespoon of Sugar1/2 Teaspoon of Salt1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon1/2 Teaspoon of Cloves or Pumpkin Pie Spice2 Eggs, separated1 Cup of Milk1/2 Cup of Cooked or Canned Pumpkin2 Tablespoons of Oil1/2 Cup of Chopped Pecans-OptionalCombine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and oil. Stir together with dry ingredients just until moist. In another bowl wisk egg whites until soft peaks form and fold together with batter.Using a pancake form pour batter onto hot greased griddle to make pumpkin shaped pancakes. If you don't have a pancake form pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls. Flip when bubbles form on top of pancake. Cook until golden brown. Serve with powdered sugar or apple pie filling. Or if you want a more traditional flavor use maple syrup.
