I wanted decor, but if you've been to Target or even Joanne's and contemplated buying full retail halloween decorations, you know how pricey it can get. So instead I simply made all my decorations, except for buying a couple pumpkins for carving and gourds for more of an autumnal accent. I cut out a ton of bats from construction paper, and either taped them in flurries around my walls, or hung them from string and put them hanging in my windows. I constructed boo-tastic ghosts using large pieces of drawing paper, and strategically placed them popping up from behind furniture. The creme de la creme of decor came from my reconstruction of a scene from It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, by either drawing and coloring in the characters or making the pumpkins and vines from cut out construction paper.
As for the food, i didn't want to simply serve up sickeningly sweet, treats. So I created dishes that would both be easy on me to make, and especially easy on my wallet. The menu consisted of: "Devilishly Good Taco Dip", "Bloody Bat Wings" (Jerk style Rub chicken wings with the drumstick and wing tip attached, served with a BBQ dipping sauce), Crescent Roll Wrapped Mummy Dogs, A Snake Bite, and Individual Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes. Of course it wouldn't be a party without a tasty cordial or two. Other than beer, and lots of it, I served up Skittles shots. Which is simply skittles that have been fully dissolved in vodka, and then I allotted them into 15 ml disposable test tubes, gave off a great Mad Scientist Vibe. Of course a slew of candies were also served, to indulge our inner child!
Everyone had an amazing time. I will definitely repeat not only the menu, but the decor next year. See below for my easy peasy recipes, and more pics to come!
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Filling:
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 16 oz can of Pure Pumpkin with or w/o spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg (less if using freshly grated)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a standard muffin pan.
To make crust: In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until crumbs are moistened. Press crust into bottom of each muffin cup. To make the filling: Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy, add pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add sugar, flour,cinnamon, and nutmeg, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon cream cheese mixture over graham cracker crusts. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream!
Ingredients
To make crust: In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until crumbs are moistened. Press crust into bottom of each muffin cup. To make the filling: Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy, add pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add sugar, flour,cinnamon, and nutmeg, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon cream cheese mixture over graham cracker crusts. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream!
Devilishly Good Taco Dip
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz can of refried beans
- 1 8 oz package of cream cheese
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 tblspn of chili powder
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- a dash or cayenne pepper
- 1 16 oz package of shredded cheddar cheese OR make homemade cheese dip (make sure its on the thicker side)
- homemade or store bought guacamole (16 oz)
- 16 oz of salsa (I used a little spicier of a salsa)
- 3-4 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/3 of cup of Cilantro (chopped roughly)
- package of medium or large flour tortillas
Blend your cream cheese and sour cream together (so it's thoroughly mixed) and add in your chili powder, black pepper, and cayenne. Set to the side.
In a 9 X 13 pan, spread out your refried beans so they completely cover the bottom. Then add your cream cheese mixture, guacamole, evenly distribute out the salsa, and finally the shredded cheddar. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set, either over night or for a few hours before the party.
Cut out a graveyard scene from your flour tortillas. Individual fence posts, graves, a tree, black cat, etc etc. Bake in the oven at 350 F, for only about 10-15 minutes or until crisp. Spread your shredded lettuce and cilantro evenly over the top of the taco dip. You do not want to see any of the shredded cheddar. Then place your graveyard scene sticking out of the dip.
Bloody Bat Wings
Ingredients
- 12-16 Wings, with drumstick and wing tip still attached (the bigger the better)
- 3 tblsp cups paprika
- 3 tbsp course black pepper
- 3 tbsp onion salt
- 3 tbsp granulated garlic
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp Cayenne powder
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup of BBQ sauce
Make sure your wings are clean, and patted dry. In a baking pan or even better a metal rack over a baking pan, use a little canola oil so nothing sticks.
Now mix together all your spices and brown sugar. Thoroughly coat each of your chicken wings, so you can't see any skin. Place on your metal baking rack, and bake at 375 F for about 30-40 minutes.
Take out and let cool for about 5 minutes. Place on a large circular plate so it looks like the wings of bats, surrounding a ramekin of BBQ sauce.
Snake Bite
Ingredients
- 1 can crescent rolls
- Flour, for dusting
- 4 tablespoons spicy mustard
- 10 ounces thinly sliced ham
- 10 ounces thinly sliced salami
- 10 ounces bologna
- 12 ounces Monterey Jack, grated
- Liquid Food Coloring
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 whole cloves
- Toothpicks
- 2 small pimento-stuffed olives
- 1 (1-inch) strips jarred roasted red peppers
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.Line a cookie sheet with foil. Grease the foil and set aside. Dust a flat surface lightly with flour. Spread out the crescent dough — do not separate. Pinch together the seams so that you have 1 piece of dough. Roll out to make a large rectangle. Make sure the dough is not stuck to the surface at all.
Brush the dough with the mustard, leaving a 1-inch border. Layer the meats down the center of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border on either end. You can feel free to use your favorite cold cuts. Top the meats with the cheese. Fold 1 side of the dough over the filling, lengthwise. Then, fold the other 1/2 over and press the seal the filling inside.
Take 1 egg yolk, and beat lightly with a fork. Brush the egg yolk over the top of the dough. The yolk will act as the glue to hold. Fold the dough in 1/2 again lengthwise. Pinch the seam with your fingers to seal. Press the outside of the dough to make sure everything is sealed tight and to make an even thickness for the body of your snake. Taper 1 end of the dough to form a tail shape. Form the other end into a head shape.
Beat the 2 remaining egg yolks together. Transfer to 3 separate small bowls. Add some food coloring to each bowl — whatever colors you like! Using a clean paintbrush, "paint" the snake with the egg yolk/food coloring mixture.
Transfer the snake to the foil lined sheet tray. Form into an "s" shape so it looks like the snake is slithering. Insert 2 cloves into the head to look like nostrils and 2 stuffed olives for eyes. Create a mouth or tongue with the roasted red peppers. Bake the snake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
Crescent Wrapped Mummies
Ingredients
- 2 cans of crescent rolls
- 1 package of 8 ball park franks
Unfold your can (s) of crescent rolls. Using 1 crescent roll/hot dog, cut it into long strips. Using these strips, wrap them around your hot dog to resemble a mummy. Leave some space where the eyes would be, and simply use mustard to dot eyes on some of your mummies when you serve them. I like to use a dipping sauce of just mustard and ketchup mixed together, but anything would be delish!
Skittle Shots
- 1 large bag of colored skittles
- 1 half gallon of vodka
- 5 clean, empty plastic water bottles
Separate all your colors into individual containers/the water bottles. Make sure you know approximately how many you have in each.
Add 1 oz of vodka for every 10 skittles. So if you have 80 skittles, add 8 oz of vodka (1 cup).
Shake vigorously for about 30 sec to a minute. Let sit at least overnight at room temp, shaking every once in a while. For the most part all of your skittles should completely dissolve. You might be left with a small amount of white, but you can rid yourself of this by either carefully decanting OR using a sieve or cheesecloth.
You can either put your skittle vodka in individual serving bottles and chill, using for mixed drinks/martinis OR pour into 15 ml disposable plastic test tubes for individual shots. This is what I did, and not only were they delish, but made a great decor addition.
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