...Frightfully Good Fun

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have helped plan a Halloween Carnival for St. Mary's in Muskegon for the last two years. Before that, Mom and I scared up some fun with a Halloween Weekend at Fisherman's Landing Campground {Mom was working there at the time}. And, before that....well...Halloween parties at our house on Sullivan were notorious {weren't all our parties notorious?}.

My favorite part of any party is the planning. The searching. For ideas: activities, food, creepy crawly decorations. I love breaking out every October/Fall/Halloween edition of Martha Stewart Living and all the other mags I've collected over the years and pouring over each page {of which I've practically memorized}. I love prepping all the goodies....and how everything seems to come together right at the last minute. And I love the awe factor. The look on the faces of our party goers as they take in all that we have created.

So, you can imagine how sad I am to be away from that this year. I'm still searching for ideas, though; forever compiling a list for future reference and filling my "favorites" file with recipes and such. And, always looking back at the pics of past parties. Feast your eyes on our yummy goodies:

Yummy Mummy

**I never use measurements for this guy...but here's what he's made of**

**cream cheese**
**shredded cheddar cheese**

**sliced green onions {include some greens}**

**sliced deli ham**

Using a stand mixer, combine all ingredients and dump out onto your serving platter. I like to use a parchment lined rectangular platter. Using your hands, shape the mixture into logs and then flatten the logs to resemble arms and legs. Make the body of the mummy by shaping the mixture into a flattened rectangle. In another bowl, beat additional cream cheese with a couple of tablespoons milk until creamy and pipe-able. Put this mixture into a cake decorating bag fitted with a flat sided cake tip. Pipe the bandages, criss-crossing the stripes and leaving little gaps to expose the cream cheese mixture beneath. At the ends of the arms, pipe some of the strips onto your parchment {if using} or your platter as if the mummy is being unraveled. Add small chunks of olives for eyes and a small slash of roasted red pepper for a mouth. Serve with crackers and/or crudites.  {saw this in Taste of Home magazine}

Decadent Dessert Pizza

**again, no measurements**
**chocolate chip cookie dough**
**chocolate chips for melting**
**white chocolate chips for drizzling**
Fruits: pineapple chunks, bananas, strawberries, hulled & cubed**
**slivered almonds**

I've made this with both store bought cookie dough and homemade chocolate chip cookie dough baked in a jelly roll pan. The store bought cookie dough tends to bake flatter and look prettier :)

Bake cookie dough as directed on package. Melt chocolate chips and spread over cooled cookie. Top with cubed fruits {be sure to dry the fruit on some paper towel}. Drizzle pizza with white chocolate and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Be prepared to be showered with praise and declared baker extraordinaire. Graciously accept compliments and, if possible, blush with modesty :)

Tasty Backbones

1 package (3oz) soft cream cheese spread with herbs
4 extra large flour tortillas
1 (60z) bag baby spinach
8 ounces thinly sliced salami or ham
8 ounces thinly sliced cheese (swiss, provolone, white american}
1 (7oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced into strips

**I mostly just combine cream cheese, sour cream, and a dried ranch mix**
**using flavored, colorful tortillas such as basil-tomato or spinach wraps is fun too**

Spread 2-3 tablespoons cheese spread close to the edge of tortillas. Layer each tortilla evenly with spinach, meat, & cheese. Lay thin strips of peppers along center of tortilla.

Tightly roll into logs. At this point I like to wrap each tortilla tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Doing this makes each tortilla meld nicely and hold together when cut into spirals. Cut rolls into 1 1/2 inch spirals and stack off balance to resemble backbones. Experiment with different fillings and make a lot. These are super yummy.

Ghoul Eyes

1 ripe avocado
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
16 cherry tomatoes
8 pitted black olives, sliced in half

Mash avocado with a fork. Stir in lime juice and garlic salt. Cut off tops of tomatoes and scoop out the insides. Discard. Spoon in 1 rounded teaspoon of avocado mixture. Top with sliced olives to resemble the pupil of an eye. Watch what you eat watching you!

I've made this with may different store-bought fillings {as pictured above}.

Caramel apple slices

Sliced apples {soak in orange juice until ready to serve & dry thoroughly}
Caramel ice cream topping
crushed peanuts

On a serving platter, lay out apple slices. Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with crushed peanuts. Easy Peasy.

Oozing Chocolate Fountain

Follow manufacturer's directions for melting white chocolate chips, add green food dye.

To dip:

Fruit: bananas, pineapple, strawberries {these were the most popular}
Marshmallows
pretzels
cinnamon cookies
Rice Krispy treats