FRIED BRAINS WITH BLOOD
Buy frozen curly potatoes at Publix
Bottle of Ketchup
You can bake in oven or fry on top of stove, but if you fry you must be very very careful. FOLLOW PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS.
SIMPLE SLOPPY JOES
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
¾ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained
Hamburger Buns
Crumble ground beef into skillet and add onion. Cook over medium heat until beef is lightly browned. Drain off any grease. Add ketchup, Worcestershire, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, salt and beans.
Turn heat to low and cook for 8 minutes. Serve on toasted hamburger buns.
SPIDER PRETZELS
Buy pretzels by Pillsbury in refrigerator section of grocery store.
Roll out as long as you can and cut into pieces. Roll one section to make body of spider. Attach legs with an egg beaten well and brush on legs and body. Sprinkle lightly with salt and bake according to instructions on package.
PUMPKIN AND SKULL SANDWICHES
For skulls: cut out skull shapes freehand from slices of white American cheese.
Cut out holes for eyes, nose and mouth. Lay cheese on bread and tomato slice and slice. Fill eyeholes with black olives.
For pumpkins: Place cheddar cheese on whole wheat bread. Cut out with a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter. Make faces and stems with pieces of green and red bell pepper.
JACK O LANTERNS
Level off bottom of naval orange. With small sharp knife, cut jack o lantern features on one side of orange. Cut a ½” thick slice off top of orange and make a small holes in center of slice. Partially hollow out orange. Fill with chocolate pudding. Replace top slice and poke a spoon in.
HALLOWEEN PRETZELS
1-cup caramels – about 20
½ cup of semisweet morsels
8 pretzel rods
Sprinkles
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray with Pam. Place caramels in stainless steel bowl and put over a pot of simmering water and melt. Heat until melted and smooth. Do same process with chocolate.
Hold each pretzel rod over bowl of caramel. Scoop up a tablespoon of melted caramel. Rotate pretzel while drizzling caramel. Leave spaces between caramel stripes. Repeat process with chocolate, filling in the space between caramels. Decorate pretzels with sprinkles. Allow to harden.
This recipe should use the nuts if for adults – children tend not to like nuts so always ask if they want them included.
TOMATO SAUCE
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 –28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 – 14-1/2 ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
Pinch of sugar
2/3 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup red wine
1 tablespoon butter
FOR MEATBALLS
1 pound lean ground beef
1/3-cup fresh breadcrumbs made from whole wheat bread
1/4 cup diced canned mild green chilies
¼ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped coarsely
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
For tomato sauce: Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with juices and sugar. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add stock and wine (not for kids). Simmer uncovered until reduced to 5 cups, about 20 minutes. Remove
Page two of Spaghetti and meatballs
from heat. Whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool. Cover and chill.)
FOR MEATBALLS: Preheat oven to 375. Combine beef, breadcrumbs, chilies, ¼ cup tomato sauce, walnuts (chopped), onion, bell pepper, egg, tomato paste, garlic, salt, pepper, fennel and thyme in large bowl; mix well. Using 1 heaping tablespoon for each, form mixture into meatballs; transfer to two parchment covered baking sheets with sides. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Bring tomato sauce to a simmer. Add meatballs and simmer 1 minute.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti (1-1/4 pounds dry) in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain well, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Transfer cooked spaghetti to large serving bowl. Add tomato sauce and meatballs and toss to coat. Add reserved cooking liquid to spaghetti by tablespoonfuls to moisten if necessary. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
8 cups popped popcorn 1-1/2 cups sugar
½ cup light corn syrup ½ cup water
1 teaspoon white vinegar ½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated orange zest ¾ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon orange extract
orange gel food coloring chocolate candy corn or regular
Place popcorn in large bowl.
Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, vinegar, salt and orange zest in 2-quart
Saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly to 260 degrees on a candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped ice water forms a hard ball.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla and orange extracts. Stir in enough orange food coloring to make syrup bright orange (color will fade somewhat when added to white popcorn). Pour syrup in thin stream over popcorn, and gently stir with buttered wooden spoon. (THIS CAN BE VERY HOT – BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET BURNED).
When cool enough to touch, but still warm, shape into 4-inch balls with buttered hands or push into gloves that corn candy has been put in the ends first, then popcorn. Fill gloves and tie with orange and black curling ribbon.
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1-cup mini chips semi-sweet chocolate
20 ounces white chocolate chips, melted
1 to 2 tablespoons shortening
1. Beat butter until fluffy, and then add sugar an vanilla in bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in 1 cup mini chocolate chips.
2. Refrigerate dough for 20 minutes until firm enough to handle.
3. Heat oven to 350-degrees.
4. For mummy body: roll 1-2 tablespoons of dough into 3-1/2-inch long carrot shape; place on parchment covered baking sheet. For head, roll 1 teaspoon dough into ball the size of a large grape; press onto top end of body. Repeating until you use up dough.
5. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Cool slightly and remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
6. Melt white chocolate and shortening in stainless steel bowl over pot of simmering water. Place cookie on flat surface or dip in melted white chocolate. Spoon over cookie. Using a skewer or toothpick score lines in body and face to resemble a mummy. Place mini chips for eyes. Store in cool dry place.
Makes about 30 cookies.
If you need more icing – just melt more white chocolate and shortening.
