Halloween Recipe Ideas

Cheese & Cracker Cut-outs

Using Halloween Cookie Cutters - cut cheese in the shape of Witches, Pumpkins, Ghosts, ...

Halloween Cheeseburger

Cut eyes, nose and smile out of a processed cheese slice and melt on hamburger...serve open faced.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold running water, discard stings.

Spread 2 cups of Seeds in a single layer on cookie sheets. Let dry thoroughly, stirring twice to separate & turn.

In a bowl, combine seed and 2 tsp. veg. oil (or melted butter), and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir to coat well, spread on cookie sheets.

Bake at 375º F, stirring and spreading once for 15-20 minutes or until deep golden brown. Let cool. Store in airtight container. Makes 2 cups.

Goulade

1 can frozen unsweetened orange juice concentrate

2 cans frozen cranberry juice concentrate

8 cups pineapple juice

3 -1 liter bottles of gingerale or sprite

In a large plastic container, let orange and cranberry concentrates soften; stir in pineapple juice until blended. Freeze until solid.

Place 2 scoops of frozen juice mixture in each glass; fill each glass with sprite.

Garnish with peeled grapes. (eyeballs)

Witch's Fingers

Sugar Cookie dough

red decorator gel

whole blanched almonds

Shape cookie dough into fingers, and press almond into end of finger.

Bake at 325º F for 20-25 minutes

Cool 3 minutes

Lift almond, squeeze decorator gel into nail bed and press almond back into place, so that the gel oozes out from underneath.

Jack-O-Lantern Treats

Make rice krispies treats as usual (1/4 cup marg., 1 pkg. of marshmallows, melt over medium heat and then add 5 cups Rice krispies Cereal)

Shape into balls with stem on top.

Make Orange Icing.

Put Icing to form face of Lantern.

Decorate face with candy corn , jelly beans, licorice, and gummies.

Knox Blocks

4 Knox Gelatin

3 small Jell-O

4 cups boiling water

Dissolve Jell-O, shake in gelatin slowly. Cool on counter and then refrigerate. Cut into shapes.

Perfect Pumpkin Soup

While you usually see sweet pumpkin recipes, I thought it would be fun to throw a savory one in. I've made this many times and it is a wonderful and quick way to serve pumpkin.

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups pumpkin

Salt to taste

Saute the onions with the butter in a heavy, large saucepan lover low heat until soft. Add the flour and cook for a few more minutes. Add the chicken broth, a little at a time, thoroughly mixed. Gradually add the pumpkin and cook gently for 20 minutes. Add seasoning to taste.

Mulled Cider

I know you can buy a bag of mulling spices at the store, but it's cheaper and more fun to do it yourself.

1 gallon apple cider

1/2 cup sugar

Mulling Spices:

2 small cinnamon sticks, broken (or 2 tbs. ground cinnamon)

5 whole cloves (or 1 tsp. ground cloves)

2 tbs. dried orange peel

Dash of allspice

Tie the spices tightly in several layers of cheesecloth or a muslin bag. In a large saucepan (or a crock pot set on low) heat the cider along with the sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Hang bag of spices along side of pot making sure the spices are submerged. You may want to tie the strings around the pot handle to secure it.

On the stovetop, heat the cider with the spice bag for about 30 mins., or until you can smell the spices in the cider. If you are using a crockpot, you may want to leave it for several hours. Just make sure the mixure doesn't boil. Serve in mugs with a cinnamon stick for garnish.

Stew of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving stew on Halloween? Yes! This a stew you can make with meat from all the types of animals you've eaten throughout the past year. It is done to honor the animals that have died to give you life. If you eat a lot of seafood, you may want to adapt a chowder recipe the same way.

2 pounds total meat and/or poultry (This could be a combination of beef, venision, lamb, pork, chicken, etc. I find that making beef and lamb the main meats, with small amounts of the rest works well)

1/3 cup flour

3 tbs. oil

Salt and pepper

1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 medium onion, sliced

2 bay leaves

5 large carrots, sliced

6 small potatoes, peeled and cubed

Mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a shallow bowl, then roll the meat in the mixture to coat. Heat the oil in a large, deep pot with a cover. Add the meat, without crowding, and brown on all sides. Carefully pour in 4 cups boiling water. Add the Worcestershire sauce, onion, bay leaves and stir to mix. Lower the heat and cover; allow to simmer for about 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Then add the carrots and potatoes and cook for an additional 25 minutes.

Coconut Brains

What kid (or childish adult) wouldn't love these sweet, brain-shaped treats? For added effect, puree some raspberries in syrup, then pour some on the serving dish before adding the brains for a bloody mess!

3 1/2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut

1/4 cup softened butter

1/4 cup half & half or light cream

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Using a large spoon, scoop out the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Plop each spoonful down to form large oval brain shapes. Using a sharp knife or toothpick, draw a line down the center of each brain. Then draw some wavy lines on both sides. Place brains in the refrigerator for at least one hour to chill and set. Gently remove brains with a spatula to serve.

Hand of Horror Punch

Could you ask for anything more festive than a punchbowl with a bloody-red, icy hand of death floating in the middle?

For the punch:

4 cups cranberry juice

6 cups apple cider

1 liter ginger ale

1 cup sugar

For the bloody hand:

1 large latex glove (the yellow, textured ones for cleaning)

1 10 oz. box frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

2 1/2 cups cranberry juice coctail

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

Instructions for bloody hand:

Wash latex glove and turn inside out. Pour raspberries and syrup into a four-cup measure. Add the cranberry juice to make 3 1/2 cups of mixture. Then pour 2 cups of the mixture into a saucepan and sprinkle gelatin on top. Let stand for two minutes, then warm over low heat, stirring until gelatin dissolves. Stir gelatin mixture into remaining mixture. Pour into the glove. Gather the top of the glove and tie it tightly with string. Hang the glove from a freezer rack until frozen solid (about 2 days). To serve, gently cut the glove away and float in the punchbowl.