Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Ten Fun and Creepy Halloween Party Snacks
It doesn't matter if you have a big family or if you're on your own... Halloween is one of the most fun holidays ever invented. But if you are a busy mom (and your house is the one house on the block where everyone goes for Halloween parties) you may be looking for some quick and easy Halloween party snacks to have ready for kids, visitors, guests, and freeloading adult friends during the Halloween season.
Looking for some new ideas for festive snacks that don't take a hundred years (or work your fingers to the bone) to put together? The ten Halloween party snack ideas below are lots of fun, simple to make... and some of them are even healthy!
1. Rotting Eyes and Severed Fingers
This is a very healthy but rather creepy Halloween party snack that makes good use of black olives and baby carrots. Arrange the black olives and baby carrots on a party tray with a bowl of your favorite dip (I like a cream cheese veggie dip). Inform your party guests that the tray is filled with rotting black eyes and severed fingers. And then watch this snack disappear. A good way to get your kids excited about veggies!
2. Jack o' Lantern Oranges
This healthy treat is so easy to make, and looks so pretty! Carve jack-o'-lantern faces into oranges and place on a platter. The kids will love it. And they can help, too, without ever having to pick up a knife. Have them simply draw the faces on with a black marker, and carve them yourself. Or don't worry about carving them-- they look just as good with faces drawn on.
As a variation of this fun Halloween party snack, I like to hollow out an orange with a Jack o' Lantern face and fill it with fruit salad. Healthy, easy and quick!
3. Easy Bugs in the Bone Yard
This is such a fun Halloween snack for the kiddos. All you have to do? Sprinkle raisins into a bowl full of white-chocolate covered pretzels. (You could also use chocolate covered raisins.) Kids will eat them up once they learn the name of this snack. Or they'd eat it up anyway, since this mix tastes divine.
4. Slimy Halloween Jigglers
You know those Jello jiggler molds? They work great for Halloween! Either use whatever you have lying around the house, or go out and pick up a brain or a heart-shaped Jello mold. Make up a batch of orange, black, purple, or flesh-colored Jello and pour into your mold(s). Or make a flat pan of Jello and cut out shapes with Halloween cookie cutters instead.
5. Ghost Cereal Bars
Prepare a batch of the Rice Krispies marshmallow treats recipe on the back of the cereal box. When the mixture has set up, cut out shapes with ghost shaped cookie cutter. Pour warm white frosting or melted white chocolate over the shapes to cover. Add M&M eyes and mouth. A delicious and easy Halloween party snack.
6. Green Gelatin Intestines
This is one of the grosser looking Halloween party snacks. Make lime gelatin and add pineapple bits, chopped marshmallows, sliced bananas and mandarin oranges. Pour gelatin mixture into an angel food cake pan and let set up. Invert pan to remove gelatin mold. Slice the mold horizontally into about 5 layers. Slice the layers in half and arrange on a platter in semi-circles to look like intestines. Gross!
7. Spooky Healthy Eyeballs
This Halloween party snack is both easy and healthy. Wash a bunch of green grapes. Insert a raisin into the stem end of the grapes and freeze them all until ready to serve.
8. Monster Crackers
Color some white vegetable spread or cream cheese with green food coloring and spread on your favorite crackers. Arrange small bits of green and red bell peppers to make a green-eyed, red-mouthed cracker monster. Use small amounts of broccoli sprouts to make the monster hair. A sneaky way to get kids eating their veggies.
9. Wormy Halloween Punch Recipe
No respectable Halloween party snack list would do with out having this squeamish punch. Just make green Kool-Aid and put in a clear glass punch bowl. Set the punch bowl on top of a glow necklace so the light shines through the punch bowl. Add some gummy worms and watch the kids squirm when they see it.
10. Vampire Blood
You use V8 juice for this one so it is healthier than the wormy punch above. Pour the V8 juice in a clear picture that you have labeled as "Vampire Blood." For an adult party, add the ingredients for a bloody Mary, if you like. For a kids' party, well... good luck getting them to try it. It is V8, after all!
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
Cooking with Robbie: Rice Krispy Treats
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Ten Cool Things to Do With Cookie Cutters
A simple cookie cutter doesn't seem like it would have many uses other than to cut out a cookie, but if you have a basket or drawer full of wonderfully shaped cookie, don't keep them stashed away for a day of baking. Break them out and use them for anything from decorating to children's craft projects. We've put together several great ways to put your cookie to good use all year round.
1. Use your favorite to decorate your kitchen. You can display them on a plate rail or mount them directly to the wall in a pattern for a bit of rustic, down-home charm. You might also consider suspending one or two in each window from a thin strand of wire or twine. If you have curtains in your kitchen, slip a cookie cutter onto each tie back. If you're handy with tools, you can even use several cookie cutters to replace the current knobs on your kitchen cabinets.
2. Create a shadow box for your favorite cook and include a favorite recipe written in beautiful script, a cookie, a few miniature utensils and whatever else strikes your fancy. This makes a wonderful house warming gift for someone who loves to bake.
3. The holidays give you lots of options for using cutters creatively. Tie a single cookie cutter onto each present in place of a gift tag. Choose that represent the person receiving the gift. For example, try an apple cookie cutter for your child's teacher, a megaphone for your cheerleader daughter and a cartoon favorite for your son.
If you're giving a plate of cookies to someone this holiday season, add a finishing touch that will make it truly unique. Wrap the cookies in cellophane and tie it with a bright bow. String along with a card containing the recipe for the cookies so they can make more any time they like.
4. Don't just use your cookie cutters for cookies. Lie out some cookie cutters upside down on a cookie sheet and then pack them with fudge or Rice Krispy treats and allow to harden. When the candy is set just pop the cookie cutter full of yummy goodness into a bag and finish up with a ribbon. These are great party favors for a children's party.
5. Decorate a holiday wreath with candy canes, cinnamon sticks, small measuring spoons and a few Christmas cutters and then finish it off with a gingham bow for a sweet wreath that your friends will love.
6. You can use your cutters in lots of way to entertain children. Simply stringing a few plastic on a length of soft ribbon gives you a cheerful rattle babies will love. As they grow older, teach them what each shape is as a learning tool. You can also keep a box or drawer filled with plastic cutters for little fingers to play with while you're cooking dinner.
7. Cookie cutters are wonderful for creative Play-Doh activities. Let your kids cut out their own set of animals, shapes and letters for hours of fun.
8. Cookie cutters are great for budding artists. Show your kids how to carefully trace around the outside edge and then fill in the details and color themselves.
9. Take cookie cuters to the beach. A stretch of wet sand is the perfect location to create sand art with an assortment of cutters.
10. Make your kids extra-special pancakes for their birthday, Christmas or just because. When you have the pancake batter ready, pour it into a metal that's been placed on the hot griddle. To prevent sticking, spray the edge and inside of the cookie with a non-stick vegetable spray. Keep the cutter on just until the pancake batter is set but not completely cooked. Lift off the cutter and flip the pancake. Your kids will love a plateful of Santa, kitten or dinosaur pancakes!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Fun Halloween Recipes and Ideas
Halloween has always been a favorite time of year for me. Not only is it my birthday, but the air is clean and crisp, the leaves have turned colors and it's just a very pretty time of year.
I'd like to share some fun Halloween ideas and recipes with you:
Halloween cookie cutters are a must. You can use these cookie cutters on bread to make Halloween sandwiches. Kids love jack-o-lantern shaped sandwiches. You can spread their favorite sandwich topping on the bread once it's cut.
Purchase M&M's from a store that sells specific colors. Buy orange and green M&M's and then use them in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe substituting the M&M's for the chocolate chips.
You can also put those same M&M's in your favorite rice krispy treat recipe. It's amazing how these two colors transform recipes into Halloween recipes.
Look for mini cookie cutters. They can often be found in kitchen specialty shops. If you find pumpkin mini cookie cutters, these work great on cheese. Buy sliced cheese. Cut the cheese with the mini cookie cutters and then put the slice of round cheese on a Ritz cracker.
Prepare your favorite brownie recipe and then top with candy corn pieces.
Make hamburgers and use your cookie cutters on full size slices of cheese. Serve open faced so that the pumpkin or ghost shaped cheese is on top.
Many stores sell spinach pasta. Green pasta with red sauce is very Halloween looking to kids.
Make english muffin pizzas. Add sauce and cheese and then cover with pepperoni slices. Use pineapple chunks to make eyes, nose and mouth.
What would Halloween be without pumpkin flavored items? Here are a few pumpkin recipes for you:
Pumpkin Dip
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 large 30-ounce can of pumpkin
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
Mix everything together and serve. Kids love to dip both fruit and cookies into this dip.
And what about pumpkin muffins? I love pumpkin muffins warmed with butter on them:
Pumpkin Muffins
3 1/3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 cups pumpkin
Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Pour into muffin tins. Batter will rise, so only fill the muffin tins 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Decorating your table can be fun also. Use a combination of blacks and oranges. Use cat or witch shaped bowls. I have a friend who owns plates, creamers and tea pots in the shape of cats. You can also sprinkle your M&M's and candy corn on the table. The kids can eat the decorations.
Enjoy Halloween with your kids and their friends at home with all of the above treats and ideas.
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