During a recent Halloween Taste Test Kitchen I had the exciting idea of making Mummy Twinkies.  If you have seen this project on Pinterest, you may know that  you cover a Hostess Twinkie or Little Debbie’s Cloud Cakes in white candy coating, add some googley eyes, and voila, you’ve created a mummy!  It seemed so easy on Pinterest.

Well, it wasn’t so easy for me, in fact, it was a disaster!  I’m sure it was my fault and I probably didn’t follow directions, but the candy coating just didn’t want to work with me that day.  If I ever have a Pintastrophe page, I will add that project to it.

So, here I am, 15 minutes before my taste test group is  scheduled to arrive and I’m staring at these Cloud Cakes thinking… what do I do now?

Whipping out my trusty googley eyes, popsicle sticks, and red icing, I quickly created some scary faces on my Cloud Cakes and displayed them on a Halloween plate.  The kids LOVED them!  So, I will consider them a success.

If you have little time or your kids want to try a fun and easy project during Halloween!  Try this… there’s nothing to cook, bake, or melt!

If you are looking for a salad that will turn some heads, these beautiful Zucchini Salad Rolls are just what you are looking for.

1 Zucchini (you can also use squash)
5-6 thin slices of Pork (you can also use chicken or steak or prosciutto)
4oz Goat cheese
4-5 Asparagus
1 Cucumber
1/2 cup mixed greens
1 Green Onion
Salt and Pepper

Take the goat cheese out of the refrigerator and leave out to soften for 15-30 minutes. Wash, dry, and thinly slice the zucchini into strips (use a potato / vegetable peeler). Salt and set aside.

Julienne slice the cucumber, wash and clean the asparagus (if you like your asparagus blanched, you can do that as well but make sure they stay crisp and green), Cut long strips of green onion. Place all these items around the cutting board where you will assembling your zucchini salad rolls.

When you are ready to assemble, place a strip of zucchini on the cutting board and spread a layer of goat cheese from one end to the other. Lay the vegetables, one next to the other, on one end of the zucchini. The tops of the vegetables can stick out of the zucchini, but the bottoms should stay tucked in. Once you have added all the vegetables, start rolling until you have created your roll. If you have spread enough goat cheese, it should secure the roll. If the roll is coming apart, add more cheese to the end of the zucchini. Arrange on a plate (you can also have salad dressing on the plate and arrange the rolls directly on top of the salad dressing). Salt and pepper to taste.

Are you ready for an easy (and healthy) Halloween treat?!  These wonderful fruit cups are made with oranges and… as you can guess… various fruit.  I made these two jack-o-lantern fruit cups this evening for dinner and served them to my boys.  Surprise! Surprise! I was officially the”Coolest Mom Ever”! Needless to say, after such a positive reaction, I made sure to add this to my recipe collection.

Making the Jack-O-Lanter was incredibly easy.  I cut the top off each orange and scooped out the insides into a separate bowl.  I washed the oranges, made sure they were completely dry, and drew jack-o-lantern faces on each with a permanent marker.  I put the discarded oranges in a blender and blended until the entire orange was nothing but juice.  In a separate bowl, I cut up apples, grapes, pears, mandarin oranges, and bananas.  I poured some of the orange juice over the salad (use as much as you like) and refrigerated the salad for about an hour.  Once the salad is chilled, I spooned it into the oranges and served.

If you are having a party and planning on serving many kids, you can place the jack-o-lanterns on a bed of kale to make it look like they are sitting in a “pumpkin patch”.  It’s a beautiful presentation!

Yep, you read it right… two ingredients! Just goes to show that you don’t have to have a ton of ingredients to make a fabulous salad.  Plus, no matter what time of the year it is, cucumbers seem to always be available!!

Ingredients

• 2 Cucumbers
• 1 large bunch Dill
• Salt

Preparation

This may be the most classic Halloween food that there is, breadsticks made to look like bones.  Let me just say, if you are having a Halloween party, whether it’s for kids, teens, or adults, this absolutely is a MUST for your table.  It’s easy and delicious and requires very little skill.  Below are the bones I created on my very first try.  Trust me, it’s a “no fail”.  Just make sure to serve them fresh, unless you want for people to gnaw on them like croutons, which could be a whole different kind of snack!

Ingredients

• 1 pkg Refrigerated Breadstick Dough
• 3 tbsp Butter
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
• Dried Dill, Rosemary, or any herb of your choosing

Preparation

Presentation

Ingredients

• 4 Beefsteak Tomatoes
• 7-8 oz Mozzarella Cheese
• 24 Black olives (sliced)
• 16-18 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 3 Tbsp Balsamic Reduction Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Basil Leaves for Garnishing

Preparation

I love Greek salad… I mean LOVE!!! So tonight I decided to make a simple Greek salad.  Unfortunately, the meal plan I’m currently on, doesn’t allow me to eat cheese and my husband and kids recently announced to me that they hate olives. So those two key ingredients had to be omitted and all of a sudden I wasn’t making a Greek salad anymore.

I thought, oh well, I’ll just throw my other ingredients together and we’ll see how it goes.  Well, it went superbly!!!  In fact, it is one of my favorite salads.  Simple, vegan, and delicious!  Typically, I love adding extra ingredients to a salad… something fun and out of the box.  Well, my friends, this salad doesn’t need anything extra… perfect the way it is! The mixture of lemon, dill, and garlic made my husband ask for more salad… and he is not a salad guy!  All he kept saying was … it tastes so “fresh”… amazing!!

What do I love most about this salad?  It’s a great “base” for any other salad invention you want to come up with.  Add salami and other cold cuts and you have a chef salad.  Add feta and olives, and you have a Greek salad.  You can really have fun with this!!

But if you are busy and you need a quick salad which your guests will be in love,  this is it!!  Pair it with a crusty bread, and you will be in heaven!!

2 Bibb Lettuce Heads
4 Tomatoes cut into fourths
1 cucumber
4 Tbsp fresh Dill (you can also use any herb… oregano, parsley, mint, etc!

Dressing
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 crushed garlic cloves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Make dressing by mixing oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a measuring cup or a small bowl.  Set aside.

Put the lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes in a salad bowl and add some salt.  You can leave the salad sitting for a bit so the salt brings out the fluids of the cucumbers and tomatoes.  Toss the salad.  Right before serving mix the dressing again and pour it over the salad and toss gently. Sprinkle with dill and serve.

If you are looking for a power salad… this is it!  Edamame, quinoa, eggs, feta cheese, I can go on and on!  But instead of me telling you how wonderful it is, why don’t you try it for yourself!  It will not disappoint!!

3 lb Frozen Edamame

1lb Cooked Quinoa

1 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

1 Bunch Chopped scallions

2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

2 Hard-boiled Eggs

1 Cup of Plain Yogurt

Baguette

Dressing:

6 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1-2 Garlic Clove (crushed)

salt and pepper to taste

First, mix the ingredients for the dressing. In the olive oil, add lemon juice, crushed garlic clove, and salt and pepper to taste. I also would recommend garlic salt. Set aside.

Cook the frozen edamame beans according to package direction. Once the edamame beans are cooked, salt and pepper them slightly and place in a salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the beans while they are still warm . Sprinkle with feta cheese, add the scallions, and toss until well coated. Sprinkle dill on top and arrange the eggs.

Serve warm with bread and have a bowl of plain yogurt for people to dip the bread in.  This salad is a meal within itself!  You will love it!

Ingredients

• 12 soft cookies (any flavor)
• 1 container red icing (you can use chocolate as well)
• 36 mini-marshmallows
• 12 Almond pieces for fangs

Preparation

Love tomatoes?  I’ve got a delicious salad for you!  This salad combines some of my favorites… tomatoes, avocados, onions, and basil!  Perfect summer or fall salad.  But seriously, can you picture this salad on your table during the holidays… red and green… perfection!! Here’s the recipe!

2-3 Large hot house tomatoes
1   Avocado
1/4 Cup diced onions
7-9 Leaves of fresh basil
1/4 Cup of Olive oil or Extra Virgin Olive oil.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes and arrange on a plate.  Sprinkle diced onions on top and salt both tomatoes and onions well.  Set aside for 30 minutes.  Slice avocados and place on top of salad.  Pour olive oil over the salad.  Finish off with pepper and chopped basil leaves.  Serve immediately and enjoy!