Give Me A Hand?

Or maybe just some fingers.
Here are a few quick ideas and recipes to offer up at your Halloween bash. They are edible, but look like body parts. They would work well with the Mad Scientist's Lab.

First up are the eyeballs, there are a few ways to do this. The easiest is to set out a bowl of peeled grapes. Stick your hand in that and you get the feel of eyeballs. Another eyeball recipe is using deviled eggs. Prepare them as you normally would, then top them with a slice of olive and squirt squiggly ketchup lines around them. My last eye-dea is the floating eyeball. Cut big marshmallows in half around the middle, so you have 2 flatter round pieces and stick a raisin or chocolate chip in the middle. You can either let them float in punch or drinks, or stick them on lollipop sticks.

Now comes the brains. The easy way: mix some cooked spaghetti with spaghetti sauce (blood) and serve in a large bowl. If your guests aren't too queasy, they can stick their hands in the bowl of brains. Or if you want to get fancy, you can mold a brain using green, purple, or red Jell-O and a special mold.

For fast toes, cut hot dogs in half across the middle so you have 2 short stubby sections. Toss them randomly on a plate with ketchup. Cut up chicken strips make for great fingers.

Go as gross as you want with a splash of ketchup here and there!

Enter The Laboratory If You Dare

One way you can add a little extra spook to your Halloween party is to transform your kitchen into a mad scientist's lab. It is easier than it may seem.

First you need the scientist. Use dad, grampa, crazy uncle.... Give his hair a little tease to make it stand up, sprinkle it with a little talc powder, and spray it with a combination of white and gray hair sprays. Dress him in an old white jacket or lab coat. Finish off his 'mad' look by darkening around his eyes with black and gray eyeshadow.

Now, for the decorations. What would a mad scientist have lying around? Cover the table with a tablecloth ( a store bought plastic cover would work, or use wild Halloween printed fabric to make your own), I like either shocking purple, or Frankenstein skin green. Place old beakers, test tubes, vials, eyedroppers, and the occasional rubber rat or bug around the table. Drape some fake spiderwebs over the windows, walls, and light fixtures. Fill flasks with water in different colors. A rubber monster face mask and some body parts are always good to have around.

Now for the food, it is the kitchen after all. Serve tomato soup in test tubes to look like blood. Have a spare brain sitting around (molded Jell-O or spaghetti will do). Use rubber gloves (thoroughly soak and wash first) to mold ice hands (use can use green food coloring to tint the water) and float them in the punch bowl.

Check back for more body part food ideas!

Make your house the most haunted haunt!

Having a Halloween party? Need to quickly transform your home into a haunted house? Try some of these suggestions that use easy to find supplies and many things you already have around the house.

*Create a ghostly mist! Fill buckets halfway with water, and add dry ice. There should be enough water to cover the dry ice, with 2 parts water to 1 part dry ice. Warmer water will make thicker smoke, but it will disappear quickly. Cooler water makes thinner smoke, but it will last longer. Make sure to keep them out of reach of children. Dry ice is dangerous when touched.

*Blow up different sized white balloons with helium. Cover each balloon with a small white sheet or pieces of white fabric and draw on a face with permanent marker. Float them around the house. For glowing ghosts, stick a glow stick in the balloon before inflating.

*Buy neon black lights, and place them around the house or in the party area. They will cause an eerie glow and make all the white items in the room, including the mist and ghosts, really stand out.

*Cover shoeboxes with brown or black construction paper, and line the inside of each with red felt. Fill with small plastic skeletons and place them around the house.

*Cover the tables with a black or orange tablecloth, toss with confetti, and decorate with plastic spiders and skulls.

*Hang orange and black streamers from the ceilings.

*Make your own haunted window coverings by cutting cats, bats, pumpkins and spiders out of black construction paper or felt. Tape them to your window, and then cover the entire window with white paper or a sheet, making sure to completely cover the window. Place a light behind the window to make the scary silhouettes you can see from outside.

I'll be back later with ways to turn your kitchen into a mad scientist's laboratory!

Not your average Halloween candy

For your Halloween treating fun, Hershey's has new flavors of Hershey kisses. We have very easily located the Candy Corn (which are adorable just to look at) and the Pumpkin Spice. Supposedly they have also released Caramel Apple kisses, but no one I know of has been able to find them.

We taste tested the 2 we found. We really liked the Candy Corn, they were a little sweeter, but not too sweet and with a slight candy corn flavor. The pumpkin spice on the other hand, well, they are a bit much for the taste buds. I love all things pumpkin, but the flavor can be a bit overpowering. The color is pretty though, so I might save them for decorating Thanksgiving cakes and treats.

I will keep you posted on my hunt for a Caramel Apple bag!

Looking for some spooky fun in the Midwest....

Try the Niles Haunted House Scream Park in Niles, Michigan. They have what is known as one of the best haunted themeparks in the midwest. It was named one of the Top 5 Haunted Houses in the country on Yahoo.

The park has 5 attractions plus the midway. There is something for everyone, those who scare easily (*raises hand* I can only handle the Dark Terror-Tory Hayride) to those who love extreme fear. And don't forget about the Gore Store.

So if you are in the area (and it is worth a couple hours' drive) be sure to check it out.

http://www.haunted.org/

5 Tips for Great Kids Parties

Want to throw a great party for younger kids. Follow these 5 tips.

1. Send out invitations at least 2 weeks in advance. Give time for your guests to find the perfect costume.

2. Don't be too scary. Keep the age of your guests in mind. Go for friendly-spooky, not bloody-scary.

3. Keep it short and simple. Anything over a couple hours and you risk losing the attention of the younger ones.

4. Make sure to plan plenty of activities. If you run out of time, you don't have to do them all, but it's better to have some games left over, then to have party time left with nothing to do.

5. Give them something to remember your party by. Send them home with something Halloweeny and unique. Have a craft table and let them make their own party favors.

Check back for more perfect party tips.

I can smell it baking from here

I love baking around this time of year when the temperature is dropping. It's a perfect time to try out a recipe using pumpkin. This one combines it with chocolate.


Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
*3 cups white sugar *1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree *1 cup vegetable oil *2/3 cup water *4 eggs *3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour *1 tablespoon ground cinnamon *1 tablespoon ground nutmeg *2 tablespoons baking soda *1 1/2 teaspoons salt *1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips *1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
In large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, spices, soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Grease and flour three 1 pound size coffee cans or three 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Fill cans 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from cans or pans. Wrap in cellophane once completely cooled. Makes 3 loaf pans.