Jack O’ Lantern Mac and Cheese

I love creative Halloween food using creepy colors and textures. However, I am smart enough to know that if it’s too abnormal, less adventurous eaters won’t touch it. When I got invited to a Halloween potluck, my first instinct was a creepy green pesto pasta salad. Then, I realized, a bunch of college kids might be hesitant to eat pesto.

Mac and cheese? A very safe bet! And, it’s orange, so it’s a perfect vehicle for a big Jack O’ Lantern face!

As a college student living in a small apartment, I needed a recipe with few ingredients and few dishes. This worked great for me! You boil the pasta in the sauce itself, so you only use one pot! It’s a life savor!

I also love recipes that use all of an ingredient. This uses a whole small jug of milk, 3 whole bags of cheese, a whole packet of mustard that I stole from the dining hall. You have leftover cream cheese and leftover Doritos, but that’s much better than other mac recipes where you have leftover EVERYTHING. Plus, Doritos go fast in a college apartment, and the cream cheese was gone in a couple days by being beaten with peanut butter and used as a fruit dip!

It’s also a very classic, cheddar flavor. You could fancy it up with other cheese, veggies, different pastas, etc, but this was perfect for a group without much experience with fancy food. It’s also great for kids, of course, or just a weeknight Halloween dinner. It’s so easy, delicious, and it’ll freeze super well if I have leftovers! That’s everything I need!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 pound macaroni or other small pasta (I used penne because I’m extra)
• 4 cups whole milk (ONLY recipe I have where it has to be whole or it won’t thicken)
• 6 cups shredded cheddar (that’s three standard bags, or an arm workout if you grate it)
• 2 oz cream cheese (you can use fat free here)
• 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Doritos or black olives for a face if you want

TO PREPARE: Preheat the oven to 350′

Place the pasta and milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring milk to a boil (it’s fine!) and stir for 5 minutes, or until pasta is tender. It’ll reduce a lot- that’s great! It essentially turns into heavy cream.

Stir in 4 cups shredded cheese and every other ingredient.

Butter a 9×13 dish or a round, pumpkin-shaped dish if you’re doing the Halloween version. Scatter the extra cheese on top, then pop in the oven for 15 minutes until it’s melted.

Fashion a face on top if you’re a fun person.

So easy! I used a disposable dish too, so I only had one pot to clean!

Trick AND Treat for you!

 

Haunted Trail Mix

Nothing is better on Halloween then curling up and watching a good, scary movie. Which, for my wimpy self, means Hocus Pocus or The Haunted Mansion.

When hosting a movie night, I love to have something that people can snack on during the movie. Something that doesn’t involve utensils, and is familiar, like popcorn. Well, tonight I am invited to a Halloween Potluck Movie night, so I knew I needed to make a movie munchie! I evaluated my pantry, and soon realized that I have quite a few ingredients to use up! I have a large box of Count Chocula, a bag of candy pumpkins, some dried cranberries… it’s a start!

I also had a lot of Halloween sprinkles on hand, so I knew I needed something sticky to make them attach to the snack mix! Melted chocolate chips was my initial instinct, but when I was shopping, I found caramel candy melts. What’s more Halloween than caramel? Throw in some salted nuts and pretzels to counter the sweetness, and it’s a perfect trick or treat!

This stuff is totally addictive! It’s sweet, salty, and you don’t have to take your eyes off the movie! I packaged it in cute little Halloween treat bags and passed them out when we got there! These are also a perfect homemade treat to give to trick or treaters or take to a kid’s party. It’s all kid-friendly snacks!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups Cracker Jacks (or caramel corn)
• 1 bag Chex Mix sweet and salty mix (it has pretzels, M&Ms, and all the Chex cereal stuff)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup candy pumpkin mallows or candy corn
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts
• 2 cups Count Chocula cereal
• Caramel Candy Melts
• Halloween sprinkles

To Prepare:
Simply mix together the first 6 ingredients. Melt the candy melts in the microwave, and pour them on top! Dump on plenty of sprinkles, and stir it all together until evenly coated.

Store in fridge until the melts are set, then package into treat bags!

Trick or treat!

 

Baked Halloween Sweet Potato Fries

Who says all Halloween recipes have to be unhealthy? Not I! This is a great side dish or party food that is completely festive without being a calorie bomb! It’s kid friendly AND adult friendly, and it bakes for an hour, so you can get the fries in the oven and work on the rest of your meal!

It leaves room for dessert, which is all I really need. I didn’t need a dipping sauce, but ranch or ketchup would be lovely. I served it with some other appetizer-like things, like some eyeball stuffed mushrooms and a witch fruit tray. But this would be adorable paired with a cheeseburger with a face carved into the cheese, or some “bat wings” (buffalo wings). To keep it healthy, a baked chicken breast with some bright green pesto on top would have an eerie effect and be loaded with nutrition. They’d also be great on a tailgate spread! No matter how you serve them, this is a treat that has no tricks! You can feel good about eating/ serving these.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large sweet potatos
• 3-4 tablespoons oil of choice
• seasoned salt

TO PREPARE:

Preheat the oven to 400, and oil 2 baking sheets.

Slice the potatoes into 1 inch slices, then use a pairing knife to carve the faces, as pictured.

Place the potatoes on the baking sheets, and brush each with additional oil. Sprinkle on the seasoned salt, then bake for 50 minutes to an hour, depending on the size. Serve hot!

 

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

 

As a lover of all things Halloween, I take any excuse to bake a spooky treat! Luckily, when my boyfriend and I started dating, I got myself another excuse: his birthday is October 17th!

I am home for fall break, so this was our best chance to celebrate, even though it’s a little early. I knew I wanted something fall flavored, not just a classic chocolate or vanilla. I also am well aware of my boyfriends favorite flavor: coffee! He is one of those people that orders extra shots of espresso not for the caffeine, but the flavor. So what is a fall-flavored cake that would go well with coffee? Well, that’s an easy one!

I intentionally asked him a few weeks earlier if he liked pumpkin spice lattes. He replied emphatically that of course he did, they’re coffee and pumpkin! Have I mentioned that he loves Halloween as much as I do? Anything seasonally themed around October is perfect for him.

Well, the answer was obvious! I knew I wanted to do some fancy decorations, so I wanted the cake to be pretty simple. A doctored-up spice cake mix would work perfectly with the addition of some sour cream, extra flavorings, and lots of instant coffee! By adding more ingredients, I can turn a two-layer cake mix into a three-layer cake, which makes it even more of a spectacle.

I’d recently seen a Halloween cake with meringue bones around the sides, and I loved the way it looked! I did not feel like baking a meringue, so I decided piping some white chocolate was the best option. I can do it while the cake is baking and just leave them in the fridge until I’m ready to decorate!

Soon, everything came together. I presented it to him, and he was completely thrilled. When we took a bite, I realized this may just be the moistest cake I’ve ever made. With canned pumpkin, sour cream, melted butter, and a creamy frosting, it literally melts in your mouth! However, it is NOT too sweet! The coffee counters it perfectly. It is also very light and fluffy; my mother compared it to a really light pumpkin quick bread.

Overall, this cake is a winner for October birthdays, a Halloween dessert, or a show-stopping Thanksgiving finale if you’re not into pie. It’s impressive enough for any dinner party. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 spice cake mix
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 15oz can pumpkin
• 1/4 cup instant coffee (if you use instant espresso, which is fine, use less. Just taste the batter until you like the coffee flavor.)
• 6 cups white frosting (homemade or canned- I dyed mine orange)

For the garnishes: pumpkin mallows, black decorator frosting, sprinkles, white candy melts, Halloween cookie cutters.

TO PREPARE:

Preheat the oven to 350, and prepare three 9 inch round cake pans (I do spray, parchment paper, and more spray. It NEVER sticks).

Combine all the cake ingredients (everything but the frosting and garnishes) in a large bowl and whisk until everything is incorporated. Scoop evenly into the three pans (I use a cup measure, alternating between each pan to keep it even).

Bake for 25 minutes or until firm on top and the sides pull away from the pan. Don’t do the toothpick test; this cake is naturally very moist and will probably leave a soft crumb on the pick, and you do NOT want to over bake it because a tooth pick wasn’t clean.

If you want to decorate it like me, backtrack a bit. While the cake was baking, melt some white candy melts in the microwave. Four big blocks did it for me, in the microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds, followed by some vigorous stirring. Get a ziplock bag and open it, then place it into a large cup, with the edges pulled over the sides to get a good aim at the inside of the bag. Pour in the chocolate!

Get a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet, and spray it. Place some Halloween cookie cutters on the paper. Snip the end on the ziplock bag, and pipe into the cookie cutters, filling each shape completely. Allow to sit for about 2 minutes, then remove the cookie cutters. The shapes may spread some, but that’s okay! We don’t need perfection here! Apply sprinkles, candy eyes, etc, until they look just how you like. Pop the baking sheet into the fridge and let them chill and set.

Once the cakes are cool, get your white frosting ready and dye it orange, if desired. Frost each layer of the cake, and down the sides! For the top, I used cookie cutters again as stencils to create the black cat, then I free-handed the Jack O’ Lantern face with black gel frosting. Then, decorate with some mallow pumpkins and sprinkles. To finish, get out the white candy melt garnishes and stick them to the sides. I didn’t need any additional frosting, but if you only did a thin layer, you may.

Tah Dah! Trick or Treat!  

Slow Cooker Three Ingredient Apple Cider Pork Roast

This is my favorite meal prep of the school year. Why? Well….

I love apple cider. It is my favorite seasonal beverage (Yes, above Eggnog!). I drink it from Labor Day until Thanksgiving, and I never get tired of it!

However, I live alone, and I don’t drink THAT much of it in one sitting, so getting through a whole gallon in the 3 weeks before it spoils is nearly impossible. Cider is great in desserts, yes, but I can’t exactly justify making desserts every week to use up cider.

So, what to do?

Well, I like to use my slow cooker for my meal prep because I don’t have time to do stovetop food on Sundays. Pulled Pork is best in the slow cooker, and pork and apples were destined for each other.

Last night, I fried up some bacon for my friends, meaning I have a pan full of solidified bacon fat. Why not double pork this sucker, and rub bacon fat all over the roast? Well, I mean, there are certainly some legitimate reasons why not to do that, but none of them matter to me when I’ve got bacon fat in front of me.

Does it need anything else? Hmmm… the sweet tangy apple cider provides acid, the smoky bacon fat provides richness…. what else could it need? I had originally planned on adding some mustard or onion, but after smelling it, I decided that the pure apple-bacon flavor was all I needed!

And can we talk about how this is fall at its finest? It’s an easy weeknight dinner for anyone with a busy schedule. It’s pulled pork, so it’s tailgate-friendly, it’s apple, so it’s Halloween-friendly, and it’s make ahead, so it’s party-friendly!

Let your guests pile it on buns before trick or treating, with some slaw on top! Put it on nachos for the football game! Stuff it inside baked potatoes with ranch dressing and cheddar cheese! Put it in lettuce wraps for a healthier twist. Oh, the possibilities.

You’re welcome.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pork roast
• 5 cups apple cider
• 1/4 cup bacon fat

TO PREPARE:

Rub the pork roast liberally with the bacon fat. Place in slow cooker and pour apple cider over the top. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, until fork tender.

Shred with two forks! Enjoy!

 

Caramel Apple Mousse Stuffed Witches Hats

It’s the first weekend of October, which means I can officially make the transition from fall themed food to spooky food! I don’t feel too weird doing pumpkin recipes in September, but I have to wait until October before I pull out the ghosts, spiders, witches, and Jack O’ Lanterns!

Halloween is also the best time for a super sweet, sugary treat. Thanksgiving is great for pumpkin and mincemeat, Christmas is great for fancy adult desserts with cranberries and ginger and rum, but Halloween is all about chocolate, marshmallow, peanut butter, and… caramel apple! These are the flavors of childhood, where you’re not trying to counterbalance the sweetness with something bitter or tangy. You’re just embracing the idea of a really sweet treat!

And what could possibly taste more like Halloween than a gooey caramel topping sticking to a crunchy, in-season apple? Turn it into a witch hat, and you’ve got a party dessert!

The title of this recipe may make it sound complicated. I know I hear words like “mousse” and “stuffed” and assume I’ll be beating egg whites over a hot stove and heating up the oven for a pastry and probably wishing I’d just bought a Jello Mousse Mix.

Luckily, this is a shortcut mousse that would make any French chef cry. It uses marshmallow cream for the fluffiness, and the caramel comes from a jar of ice cream topping. And the “hats” you’re actually stuffing are not some fancy pastry dough; they’re an ice cream cone.

Relieved? Me too.

This is also great to make the morning of a party, so you’re not scrambling around last minute. They’re also individualized, so you don’t have to waste any time cutting cake or scooping ice cream for your party guests, and they don’t require any utensils, so less dishes!

And, believe it or not, while these are sweet, they are not heavy. It’s a light, fluffy mousse inside of a thin, crunchy cone. It’s not a super filling, leave-you-stuffed kind of dessert like a brownie sundae. So, if you’re serving some kind of heavy dinner, like a casserole or pasta or roast, these are a great way to serve dessert and still have guests that can dance or trick or treat!

I’m sold, I hope you are too.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 jar Marshmallow Cream
• 16 oz whipped cream cheese (I used fat free, as if that keeps this from being a high calorie dessert)
• 1/2 cup Apple Butter (so there’s fruit in there!)
• 1/2 cup Caramel Sauce (okay that negates the fruit)
• 12 sugar cones (the pointy kind)
• 2 cups melted dark chocolate, orange candy melts, purple candy melts, whatever color you want the hats!
• 12 large cookies, any flavor
• Sprinkles, crushed candies, crushed cookies, decorator frosting, sea salt, etc.

TO PREPARE:

First, beat together the marshmallow cream and the cream cheese. Fat free cream cheese is naturally soft, but if you use the real stuff, let it get to room temperature or run the package under warm water to soften.

Beat in the Apple Butter and Caramel Sauce! You could also add a dash of salt here. Get it all combined until it’s one mixture, and let it sit in the fridge!

Meanwhile, make some hats! Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals, or over a double boiler. Carefully submerge the sugar cones and get them completely coated in chocolate. While the chocolate is still sticky, roll them in your sprinkles, cookies, and other decorations. If you’re decorating with frosting, let the chocolate set first. Keep your leftover melted chocolate- you’re about to use it again.

Once your hats are decorated, fill them with the mousse. Then, dip the wafer cookies in melted chocolate and secure to the opening of the cones, to look like a hat! These are ready as soon as the chocolate is set, but if you want to put them in the fridge and get them really solid, go for it.

These would be a great dessert for a witch-themed night! Breadstick brooms, a cauldron with some green punch, and Hocus Pocus on the TV! I’ll certainly be doing that.