HALLOWEEN!!!

 I LOVE HALLOWEEN! So this year we threw a grown-up, full blown costume party at our house. I've pictured here a few of the fun Halloween themed foods that were served, and I'm going to give you the run down on one that's not pictured here, mainly because it was so good I couldn't get a good picture before it was devoured! And just to throw it out there Disclaimer: most of these ideas are not my own, they are adapted from other bloggers I found on pinterest (click the links to see original recipes)

Witch Hat Cookies
I definitely recommend these if you need something easy and quick for a party or school function. All you need is a package of fudge stripe cookies, about 30 hershey kisses, and some orange decorating icing (Betty Crocker makes colored icing in a can that it easy to point, press, and decorate). I suggest unwrapping the hershey's kisses first, because once you get started you need to move quickly. There are about 24 cookies per package and you will need one kiss for each cookie. Melt a few (3-4) kisses in the microwave until they

 are smooth and you can use it like glue. Take a toothpick, small paintbrush, or cotton swap to "glue" the kisses to the bottom (chocolate) side of the cookie. When the chocolate is set, decorate however you wish. I chose to make little bows on each hat. Store in air-tight container to stay fresh!

Spider web layered dip
This is another super easy and quick throw together recipe that's also cute and impressive. This is a simple version of the popular mexican seven layer dip. I didn't have exactly seven layers, but you understand the gist of it. Feel free to ass more layers in you desire. For this you will need: 1 can refried beans, 1 package taco seasoning (I used a tbsp Penzey's taco)1 can diced tomatoes with chilies- drained (rotel), 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1/2 cup guacamole (I cheated and used store made because I honestly ran out of time), sour cream (or greek yogurt), and 10 olives. I used a pie dish, but you can use whatever plate or dish you like. Mix taco seasoning into refried beans and then layer ingredients in the following

order: Beans, tomatoes, cheese, guacamole. Then lightly draw your spider webs with the sour cream and cut olives to look like spiders. Keep refrigerated until time to serve! Serve with tortilla chips.

Blood-shot eye deviled eggs
This one is my own recipe. I did get the idea for making the eggs look like eyeballs from a magazine post, but the recipe is my own. You will need: 1 dozen eggs- hard boiled, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp (or more) dill relish or diced dill pickles, celery salt and pepper to taste, one olive slice per egg, and hot sauce to make the red bloodshot lines. Peel and cut eggs into halves. Gently scoop yellow centers out into mixing bowl. Set whites aside. Using a fork, combine egg yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, pickle, celery salt, and pepper until creamy. (taste and adjust flavors if you desire more or less of anything). Fill egg white halves with almost a tbsp of yellow filling. Once filled, place one slice of olive in the middle of each egg, and then use a toothpick or small

paintbrush, to lightly dab lines on the yellow filling to make the eyes look blood shot.

Celery and pimento cheese mummies
I used the idea from the link above, however I changed it a bit for my own liking. You will need 1 bunch celery, about 1 cup pimento cheese (that's my fav recipe), 1 small package of thinly sliced deli meat ( I used carl budding's smoked turkey- if you want fresh from the deli, estimate one piece per celery stick), and tiny olive pieces or pimentos for the eyes. Wash and cut celery into 3 inch pieces (pretty much each stalk into 3 pieces), then stuff with pimento cheese. Cut the turkey into thin strips, then wrap each piece of celery. Place eyes to make mummies complete. Keep refrigerated until time to serve, store in air tight container in refrigerator.

Popcorn Balls
I'd never made these before, and while it was fun, I'll probably never make them again. They are very time consuming, messy, and honestly quite wasteful. Also, if you have special dental work I don't recommend eating these. The syrup that holds them together is sticky and worse than caramel to get off your teeth! However they are delicious and a great throw back to old timey Halloween! I followed the directions pretty much to a t. The only thing I did differently was that I used air popped popcorn instead of microwave or stove top, because I wanted to make them allergy friendly (no butter), and I also used Pam cooking spray instead of buttering the sauce pan for the syrup. I would suggest clicking the link above and using that, because they spell it our better than I can, and If I try I'll probably just end up confusing you, and rambling on for the next three pages!

The last recipe I will share, which was a total hit, was my own version of Queso con Carne. I normally stray away from cheesy dishes because we have a dairy allergy in our house, however for a party, it's always something that the guests flock to! It's a simple recipe, but I wanted to share my special "cheat" that everyone said really made it stand out from other cheese dips they'd had. You will need: 1 lb block of melting cheese (velveeta), 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies- drained (rotel), and 1 can chili without beans ( That's the cheat). Many times people will brown ground chuck or sausage and throw it in there, but I think that the extra sauce from the chili makes it more creamy and rich. First turn crock pot on to high heat, and place liner inside. - If you haven't discovered Slow Cooker Liners you're missing out! its a huge time saver, especially if you use your crock pot alot! Just place one inside, do your cooking, and at the end, just pull it out and dispose- clean up is a breeze- not scraping, or soaking required. Anywho- back to the recipe. Cut cheese into small blocks and place in crock pot. Drain tomatoes and pour over cheese, followed by the chili. As the cheese melts, occasionally stir ingredients together until smooth. When all is melted turn crock pot to lowest setting (mine has a "keep warm" button). Serve with tostitos scoops!
Hope you enjoyed! We had a fabulous halloween!