St. Patrick's Day

The Leprechaun didn't do any pranks. I only did one meal for the holiday. And of course, like I said, the Rainbow Cupcakes. I got this "Taste A Rainbow" recipe from Family Fun.

Here are my six colors. I didn't follow the food coloring guide from Family Fun. I used Wilton Gels instead of the liquid. My red was a liquid, and it turned out pink. I even added extra. But the other colors came out VERY vibrant. I was pleased.


Here is a look at the layers. This was tedious work. My back was sore, and it took a lot longer than I had expected. One big cake in a Spring form pan would have been better. Layering 16 cupcakes was too long.

Here's a look at the cupcakes when they came out of the oven. Cool Red color on top, despite the pink batter.

Now... taking them out of their paper liner was a trick! I only ended up with about 7 cupcakes that had flat bottoms. I almost think that you need spray the liners with non-stick spray. And some of the liners bunched. So they left creases in the cupcake. See two pictures above for an example. You can see the gap between the liner and the cupcake pan. Anyway... those ones were harder because of the way the cake baked around the bunched part. Too much? Sorry, let's move on...

Here's the finished product. I added the green sugar, because I was on a green kick. Go figure! Note the ones that were decorated upside down. The tops were flat enough to hold the cupcakes up. It made for a fun twist to this fun dessert!

Here's one of the cupcakes cut in half. So you can see what the middles look like. This is a fun recipe! We gave some to friends. One of them said their girls enjoyed the colors and wants these for her birthday party. This would be a fun treat ANYTIME of the year!

So the meal I made was far from Irish. But it was GREEN!

Spinach Ravioli with Pesto Sauce. Sorry nothing too fancy as far as cooking directions. Frozen Ravioli, that I boiled. Then fried in Olive Oil for about five minutes. Covered with Pesto from a jar, and warmed on Low/ Medium for a few minutes, until the Pesto was heated.

Green Jell-O with Gold Coins (Bananas)

Green- Green Salad

Leaf Lettuce, Broccoli, Sweet Peas, & Green Apples

Green Kool-Aid

And that was our St. Patrick's Day. What did you do? Share your ideas, and I will give you a Pampered Chef Cookbook! Leave a comment with an idea and a way to contact you. You don't have to know me, or live by me. I know how to use the Post Office! Thanks in advance for sharing.

What a DEAL!!

I was at WinCo this morning. They have their Betty Crocker Cake mixes and Tub frosting on sale. The cake mixes are only $0.78 and select varieties of the frosting are $0.98. PLUS the coupons!! If you have coupons from the ads, or printed on-line that's great. But the Milk Chocolate and the Vanilla frosting have a SAVE $0.25 NOW coupon right on the packaging!! WOW!!! Saved my coupons for the frosting that didn't have the coupons. This is especially exciting today, because I am making these, from Family Fun:

Don't they look so fun?! I will post pictures of our finished product. But for now... go get some cake mix and frosting! Don't forget your coupons!

Halloween Dinner

We actually had a few Halloween Dinners. And Breakfast, lunch, and snacks! I have been storing up the recipes and pictures for this one last Halloween Post.

We had Cheese Pizza. I used my Pampered Chef Creative Cutters to cut out pumpkin and leaf shapes. We ate Deviled Eggs and Vampire fangs with Werewolf blood.

For dessert I decorated Halloween Cupcakes. We ate the monster ones. And gave away the jack-o-lantern and bug ones to our neighbors.The night BEFORE Halloween we had Bat Wings, Monster Toes, Jack-o-lantern salad (these were easy, fun, and yummy. I will do it again!), and graveyard pizza.

Snack-o'-Lantern

Ingredients
Navel orange
Canned or fresh fruit salad

Instructions
1. To make one lantern, use a small knife to slice the top off a navel orange and cut around its interior to hollow it out. Scoop out the orange segments, chop them, and mix them with canned or fresh fruit salad.
2. Carve small facial features in one side of the orange, then cut a slit in the lid to accommodate the handle of a green plastic spoon. Fill the lantern with fruit salad. Insert the spoon and set the lid in place.
( I didn't cut a slit and put in a green spoon. I didn't think ahead to go buy green utensils.)

Baked Chicken Wings ("Bat Wings")

Prep Time: 30 min

Total Time: 1 hour 15 min

Makes: 24 wings

2 pounds chicken drummettes (24)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon red pepper sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Paprika
2/3 cup ranch dressing

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Line jelly roll pan, 15 1/2x10 1/2x1 inch, with aluminum foil. Remove skin from chicken. ( I used my Rectangle Baker- There was no sticking to my stoneware, and they baked GREAT!)
2. Mix honey, ketchup, pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce in resealable plastic bag. Add chicken. Seal bag and refrigerate, turning occasionally, at least 15 minutes but no longer than 24 hours.
3. Place chicken in pan; sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until crisp and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Serve with dressing. (we called it Swamp Dip)

Nutrition Information:
1 Serving: Calories 70 (Calories from Fat 36 ); Total Fat 4 g (Saturated Fat 1 g); Cholesterol 20 mg; Sodium 90 mg; Total Carbohydrate 3 g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 5 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 2 %; Iron 2 % Exchanges: 1 Medium-Fat Meat *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Long and Short Monster Fingers Recipe
Yield 24 long; 36 short

Nutrition Facts
· Amount Per Serving · Calories 192 · Total Fat 7g · Saturated Fat 1g · Cholesterol NA · Sodium 391mg · Total Carbohydrates 26g · Dietary Fiber 2g · Protein 6g

Active Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

2 cans (11 oz each) refrigerated bread stick dough (I used one, and cut the bread sticks in half for skinny fingers)
Orange, yellow & green food color sprays (I didn't use this)
White from 1 large egg, lightly beaten
60 whole natural almonds (I used slivered almonds since I was going skinny)
Poppy seeds

PREPARATION
1. Heat oven to 375°F. You'll need 2 large baking sheets lined with nonstick foil. Unroll 1 can bread stick dough and separate along perforated lines into 12 strips. For long fingers, halve strips crosswise into 24 pieces. Roll pieces into 10- to 12-in.-long ropes. Transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing ropes 2 in. apart. Shape ropes into fun curves.

2. Lightly tint the dough ropes in blotchy tones using the spray colors with short, quick spurts (use all three colors on each finger).

3. Lightly brush with egg white and press an almond onto each for a fingernail. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.

4. Bake 13 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned on bottom edges. Cool on sheet on wire rack. Wipe foil on baking sheets clean.

5. Unroll remaining bread stick dough and separate into strips. For short fingers, cut each dough strip crosswise into thirds for 36 pieces. Roll dough pieces into 5- to 6-in.-long ropes and make fingers following the same procedure as for long fingers above. Bake as directed.

Plan Ahead: You can make 1 day ahead and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Reheat in oven about 5 minutes before serving.Note: Color Mist food color sprays are available from Wilton.com and at most crafts stores.

Haunted Pizza

1 18 oz. roll refrigerated sugar-cookie dough
4 3 1/2 oz. containers vanilla pudding
2 C. chocolate cookie crumbs or 20 chocolate sandwich cookies with white filling, finely crushed
Assorted whole vanilla wafers or graham crackers or chocolate-filled oval shortbread cookies
Black, green, red, and white decorator gel icing
Assorted candies, such as fruit-flavored jelly worms, candy-coated chocolate-covered peanuts, and gumdrops
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan or 3 baking sheets. With lightly floured hands, pat the cookie dough into prepared pizza pan. If using baking sheets, divide dough into thirds and pat each third into a 7-inch circle onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes for pizza pan or 8-10 minutes for smaller circles of dough, or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.
Spread vanilla pudding over baked cookie. Sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Cover and chill. Meanwhile, decorate cookie tombstones. Press cookies into pudding layer of pizza. If necessary, support back of cookies with some of the candies. Decorate "graveyard" with candies. Create peering eyes with candy-coated chocolate peanuts make shoes, feet, and hands with gumdrops; and arrange jelly worms. Cover and chill up to 4 hours before serving.
Yield: 16-20 servings

Halloween Breakfast was Pancakes (colored orange- I know, I needed more orange) with decorated faces. And Cinnamon Roll Eyeballs. I used M&Ms for the center and red decorating icing for the bloodshot effect.

Lunch was Hot Dog Mummies and Creepy Jello. For a Snack I made Crispy Ghosts.

Hot Dog Mummies
Feast your eyes, if you dare, on these Hot Dog Mummies. They're the perfect energy food before an evening of collecting candy.

Ingredients
1 11-ounce can of refrigerator bread sticks
1 12-pack of hot dogs
Yellow mustard
Instructions
1. For each mummy, separate one bread stick from the roll and use kitchen shears or a knife to slice it in half lengthwise to create two thinner strips.
2. Wrap one strip at a time snugly around the hot dog. Depending on the size of the hot dog, you may not need all of both strips. Leave about 1/2 inch of hot dog exposed for the face area and continue wrapping the top of the hot dog.
3. Bake the mummies on a cookie sheet at 350º for 15 to 18 minutes or until the bread stick wrapping is golden brown.
4. Remove the mummies from the oven and cool them for 5 minutes. Add yellow mustard eyes just before serving.

Makes 12 mummies.

Halloween Crispy Marshmallow Ghosts
1/3 C. butter
6 C. miniature marshmallows
1 tsp. vanilla
8 C. crispy rice cereal
2 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Pallor Icing:
1 C. granulated sugar
3 Tbs. water
1 egg white
Pinch cream of tartar
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in marshmallows until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Scrape into large bowl; stir in cereal until coated. Set bowl over saucepan of boiling water. Using rubber gloves, shape cereal mixture into 4-inch long ghost shapes. Let stand for about 30 minutes or until firm.
To make icing, in top of double boiler over boiling water, combine sugar, water, egg white, cream of tartar and salt. With electric mixer, beat at high speed for 7 minutes or until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold in vanilla.

Halloween Night is VERY busy for us. Getting into costumes. Going to parties, trunk-or-treats, trick-or-treating, going to see Grandma. This night we didn't do as much for dinner. I put chili in the crock-pot, baked Bread stick Bones, and had another crock-pot of Hot Cider. No dessert. We had so much left over from the previous nights, and they were going out to get candy!

The Bread stick Bones are refrigerated bread stick dough, separated at the perforation. I cut a slit in the ends and spread them apart. I baked as directed, and coated butter on them, just as they came out of the oven. I also read that you can tie a knot in the ends of the dough and spread egg white on them. Bake as directed. Another recipe said to sprinkle Parmesan cheese over them.

I hope you have enjoyed the Halloween Food ideas! I have some more posts planned for Left Over Halloween Candy Recipes. And Holiday entertaining ideas. And there will be more GIVEAWAYS, of course! Check back soon.

Halloween Parties and Treats

This post is coming late because I spent my day at my children's elementary school doing their classroom parties. These are the crafts and snacks we had...

Ghost Prints

Ghosts and bats magically materialize upon paper with this simple paint craft.

Materials
Black construction paper
Orange construction paper
White tempera paint
Black tempera paint

Total Time Needed: 1 Hour

Instructions
1. Fold a piece of black construction paper in half.
2. Dribble the white paint into the crease and briefly press the paper back together.
3. Open the paper up -- a ghost will appear!
4. Try the same technique with black paint on orange paper to make creepy bats and bugs.

String of Jack-O'-Lanterns or Ghosts

Make a string of jack-o'-lanterns or ghosts to hang around a room. These simple-to-make strings make a great Halloween decoration. You can drape the strings across rooms, over windows and from the chandeliers.

Supplies needed:
Construction paper (orange and black for pumpkins, white and black for ghosts)
Crayons or markers
Scissors
Glue, tape, or staples
A long piece of green or black yarn or string

Draw a jack-o'-lantern's face on a piece of orange paper, or a ghost on white paper. Make sure to draw a long stem on the top (your pumpkin or ghost will hang from this stem, which will be folded over).

Cut out the pumpkin or ghost. Make eyes, a nose, and a mouth from black paper (or use a black crayon or marker).
Fold the pumpkin's stem in half. Fold the ghost's "stem" completely behind the ghost.

Attach the pumpkin or ghost to a long string. Use green yarn for the pumpkins, black string for the ghosts. Attach them using tape, glue, or staples.

Hang your string of jack-o'-lanterns or ghosts across the room for a wonderful Halloween decoration.

Haunted Forest Centerpiece

Black licorice, threaded with wire and shaped to make a forest of spindly trees, makes this creative Halloween table topper. Snip off the ends of six pieces of black licorice and push heavy-gauge wire through the holes of each piece. Holding the pieces together in the middle, bend the ends to form a tree trunk. Bend the opposite ends to form gnarled tree branches and wrap black wire around the center of the pieces to hold it all together. Repeat for each tree. Place each tree atop a chocolate-frosted graham cracker, add a candy-corn fence, and arrange mini artificial pumpkins under the trees to complete the landscape.

We used Chocolate Licorice and the pumkin candies. The kids had to take them home to show their families. We reminded them to take the wire out, before eating!

Witches and Worms

Witches' Brew

2 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
3 tablespoons finely chopped and peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 chilled bottle (25.4 ounces) sparkling cider (about 3 1/4 cups)
1 quart chilled cranberry juice cocktail
1 liter chilled club soda or seltzer

In small saucepan, bring cinnamon, cloves, ginger, water and sugar to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Cool syrup. (Syrup may be made ahead up to 1 week and chilled, covered).

In punch bowl, combine remaining ingredients and strain syrup through fine sieve into punch. Stir punch and add ice blocks.

Makes about 13 cups.


Wormy Apples

6 large golden delicious apples
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 gummy worms
Heavy cream for accompaniment

1. Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C).
2. Core apples from blossom ends, leaving stem ends intact.
3. Mix raisins and walnuts and stuff into cavities of cored apples. Set apples, stems up in a 7x12-inch baking pan .
4. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Pour hot syrup around apples.
5. Bake, uncovered, basting occasionally with syrup, until apples are tender when pierced and skin begins to crack, about 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Remove apples from oven; cool in pan for 10 minutes or cool to room temperature.
7. Place each apple in a small serving bowl and spoon syrup around fruit. In the top of each apple, cut a hole large enough for one of the candy worms and tuck one end into each apple, leaving most of the worm dangling. Offer cream to pour over apples.

Serves 6.

Ghoul Brains and Spider Hats

Ghostly Green Brew

1/2 gallon lime sherbet
1 (2-liter) bottle lemon-lime soda, chilled

1. Allow sherbet to soften for about 1 hour in bottom of punch bowl.

2. Pour ginger ale over and stir until all sherbet is dissolved.

Makes 16 1/2-cup servings.

Note: I actually did one scoop of sherbet in each glass, and poored the lemon-lime soda over the top. Careful not to overflow! I also found some brain gummies at our local WINCO and dropped one into each glass. But they just sank to the bottom. So it didn't have the visual effect I was hoping for. But the boys enjoyed finding them after the drink was gone!

Spider Party Hat

This party hat is so fun---you really can't get the idea of the bouncing legs until you put him on!!!
Materials needed:

Black and orange construction paper

Ruler

scissors

glue or tape

Cut eight strips of black paper 1-1/2" by 9" (these will be the legs). Cut two strips 2" by 11" (these you will need to glue together to make the 2" by 22" hat band). Cut two 2" black circles, two 1-1/2" orange circles, two 1" black circles (these are the eyes).OR you can print and cut out the colored eyes pattern.

Follow the sketch for the placement of eyes. Fit the 2" wide strips, that were glued together, around the person's head-- overlap and glue ends together. Glue the eyes to the hat band with the eyes touching as shown. Fold the leg strips in half, then fold one end of each leg strip back 1" for the foot. Glue the straight end to the inside edge of the hat band. Fold and glue remaining legs. You will have four legs on each side of your hat as shown.

Put it on and have fun bouncing up and down!!!!

Here's another link for REALLY detailed instructions

Halloween, tacos, games, and GIVEAWAY!!

It's FINALLY time! The giveaway I have been SO excited about! And some Halloween recipes and ideas to go with it! Let's start with the recipes, then I'll give you the details of the giveaway!

We had Tarantula Tacos for dinner and Witch's Hats for dessert!

I got the taco recipe from Betty Crocker




1 box (4.7 oz) Old El Paso® Stand 'n Stuff® taco shells
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix
2/3 cup water
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
1/4 cup sour cream
20 extra-large pitted ripe olives
1. Heat oven to 325°F. Heat taco shells in oven as directed on box.
2. Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix and water. Reduce heat to medium; cook uncovered about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until water has evaporated. Remove from heat.
3. Spoon beef mixture into heated taco shells. Top with cheese, lettuce and tomato.
4. Spoon sour cream into small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Seal bag; cut tiny hole in corner of bag. Pipe sour cream over top of each taco to resemble spiderweb.
5. For each spider, top taco with 1 olive, pitted end down. Cut second olive lengthwise into 8 pieces; place around whole olive for legs. For eyes, squeeze 2 dots of sour cream onto top of olive.

Nutrition Information:
1 Serving (2 tacos each): Calories 440 (Calories from Fat 250); Total Fat 28g (Saturated Fat 12g, Trans Fat 1g); Cholesterol 90mg; Sodium 1150mg; Total Carbohydrate 22g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 3g); Protein 24g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 15%; Vitamin C 6%; Calcium 20%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Medium-Fat Meat; 3 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 1/2 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.


I bought all the ingredients the day of (with my promo package coupons!). When I opened the sour cream, it had a chunk of green mold. So... that's going back today! And we didn't get to have the spider webs or eyes. That was a bummer, 'cause I think it completes it!

The Tacos tasted great! Everyone had seconds. Then, for dessert...

Teeny Weeny Witch's Hats
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. butter, softened
2/3 C. powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1 oz. squares semisweet chocolate, melted
36 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine butter and powdered sugar in large bowl; beat until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in melted chocolate until blended. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well blended.
Shape dough into 36 balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness; press chocolate candy into center. Bake 6-7 minutes or until cookies are set. Cool completely on wire rack.
Yield: 3 dozen

I thought I had semi-sweet chocolate morsels, but they were actually milk chocolate. So the cookies didn't end up as dark as they probably should have. We ate the cookies, and enjoyed them, but the right chocolate probably would have made them better.

Now... the moment I have been waiting for... THE GIVEAWAY!!!

As if Taco Night wasn’t the best night of the week already, Old El Paso is giving it a whole new flare. El Tacodor™, the world’s only Family Taco Night Game, is a fun and easy way to keep your family laughing at the dinner table. Challenge family members to quick fire trivia, wordplay and pantomime, and share a laughter filled night at home.



Some examples of the challenges include:
* Crunch Time: Name at least 10 animated movies within 1 minute
* Meat-N-Greet: Name 5 things that you’d bring home from your favorite vacation place and let the table guess where you traveled
* Lettuce Play: Act out different animals – no noises! Your partner must guess 3
* Lime Light: Cheer, “We love tacos, yes we do! We love tacos, how ‘bout you?”
* Say Cheese: Pronounce the name of everyone at the table backwards!


We played the game, and had some laughs. Some of the challenges were hard for the kids. But they said it was still fun. The Hubby, who has a hard time being goofy, even did a couple challenges, before excusing himself.


And if that wasn’t exciting enough – you can also enter the Old El Paso El Tacodor Sweepstakes for a chance to win $5,000 just for having fun with your family. Other prizes include monthly giveaways of $300 cash cards, and weekly giveaways of gift certificates for Old El Paso products for the next five months. When you visit El Tacodor you will also find a link to coupons, a calendar to schedule your next taco night, topping choice chart and more!

You can download the game and go buy all your taco ingredients and have a Family Taco Night and Game Night or... You can win it all!!!

If you win, you will receive information and a link to the El Tacodor game, as well as (2) two coupons to purchase Old El Paso dinner kits and a $10 gift card to purchase any additional meal needs (i.e. meat, cheese, lettuce, etc).

Here's HOW you can win:

Entry #1: MANDATORY ENTRY. Tell us what your favorite part of Taco Night is with your family.

Entry #2: Blog about this giveaway. Leave a link to your blog.

Entry #3: Become CHEF LIKES friend on Facebook. Then come back and leave a comment with your Facebook name.

Entry #4: Post this giveaway on Mr. Linky or other sites that promote giveaways. Leave the link.

Entry #5: Subscribe to my feed or PUBLICLY Follow this blog. Be sure to confirm it, if I don't see your name, this comment won't count!

Entry #6: Grab my button, post it on your site, and leave me the link!

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. And make sure I have a way to contact you, when you win! I will accept entries until Oct. 31- Halloween night at 12 midnight (MDT). I will post the winner either Sunday night or Monday morning.

*YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A BLOGGER ACCOUNT TO ENTER* YOU CAN CLICK OPEN ID IF YOU BLOG WITH A DIFFERENT PUBLISHER OR CLICK ON NAME/ URL AND LEAVE ME YOUR NAME AND IF YOU HAVE A WEBSITE, YOUR WEBSITE*

Old El Paso provided me with free product, information, and a prize pack through MyBlogSpark™. Thanks for participating!

Halloween Countdown

I meant to post this earlier. Sorry... I am hoping that each day this week, I can inspire you to have a little Halloween Fun in your kitchens and with your families! I have come across A LOT of FUN recipes and activities. I have so many ideas, I can't try them all. So here are some ideas that I like, but won't be using, this year. Maybe you can share how it turns out, if you use them.

Spooky Brownies

Spooktacular fun and scrumptious eating are coming your way! Gather your goblins to share lots of baking tricks and treats.

Prep Time: 30 min

Total Time: 3 hours 10 min

Makes: 24 brownies

Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker® Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for in brownie mix directions

Decorations

1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy creamy white frosting

Neon green, pink and blue food colors

24 large marshmallows

Miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits

Betty Crocker® black decorating gel (from 0.68-oz tube)

1 roll Betty Crocker® Fruit Roll-Ups® chewy fruit snack (any red variety)

Gummy worms candies

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Make and bake brownies in 13x9-inch pan as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows, making 24 brownies.

2. Divide frosting among 3 small microwavable bowls. Heat frosting as needed: microwave 1 bowl uncovered on High about 10 to 15 seconds until frosting can be stirred smooth. If frosting becomes too firm while decorating, microwave on High an additional 5 seconds; stir.

3. Decorate as directed below, using 8 brownies for each bowl of frosting.
Franken-Brownies Add 5 drops green food color to frosting in 1 bowl; mix well. Top each of 8 brownies with 1 large marshmallow. Spoon 1 tablespoon green frosting over each marshmallow to coat. Decorate with green baking bits for eyes and ears. Use black gel for mouths and centers of eyes. Cut fruit snack to use for hair.
Boo-Brownies Top each of 8 brownies with 1 large marshmallow. Spoon 1 tablespoon white frosting over each marshmallow to coat. Use black gel for eyes and mouths.
Spider Brownies Add 5 drops pink food color and 3 drops blue food color to frosting in 1 bowl; mix well. Top each of 8 brownies with 1 large marshmallow. Tuck gummy worms candies under each marshmallow for legs. Spoon 1 tablespoon purple frosting over each marshmallow to coat. Use orange baking bits for eyes. Use black gel for mouths, centers of eyes and eyebrows.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Follow High Altitude brownie mix directions.

Make the Most of This Recipe With Tips From The Betty Crocker® Kitchens How-To

Line the baking pan with foil for easier cutting and quick cleanup.

Purchasing

Look for neon food colors next to the standard food colors in your supermarket.

Nutrition Information: 1 Brownie: Calories 250 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 2g); Cholesterol 20mg; Sodium 150mg; Total Carbohydrate 40g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 31g); Protein 2g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 2%; Iron 6% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 1/2 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Spiced Hot Apple Cider
1 gallon apple cider

1 (6-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate

3 whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

1. Combine all ingredients in 6-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat until heated through and flavors are blended (15 to 30 minutes).

Makes 21 (6-ounce) servings.

Cook's Tip: To keep cider warm, hold in slow cooker on Low Heat setting.

Chocolate Haystacks

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 1 hr 10 min
Makes: About 22 servings, 2 haystacks each

What You Need!
1 cup BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups chow mein noodles
2 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1/2 cup PLANTERS Salted Peanuts

Make It!
MICROWAVE chocolate chunks and butterscotch chips in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until almost melted, stirring after 1-1/2 minutes. Stir until completely melted.
ADD remaining ingredients; stir until evenly coated.
DROP teaspoonfuls of the chocolate mixture onto large sheet of wax paper. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Size-Wise
Looking for something sweet? One serving of this crunchy treat will hit the spot when served with a cold glass of low-fat or fat-free milk.
Variation - Chocolate Critters
Prepare as directed. Insert additional chow mein noodles into the haystacks for the critters' "antennae" and "legs". Press small colored candies onto the heads for the "eyes".

Nutrition Information
Calories 160 Total fat 8 g Saturated fat 4.5 g Cholesterol 0 mg Sodium 50 mg Carbohydrate 21 g Dietary fiber 1 g Sugars 16 g Protein 2 g Vitamin A 0 %DV Vitamin C 0 %DV Calcium 0 %DV Iron 4 %DV

Monster Mash Party Mix
10 cups popped popcorn

1 (16-ounce) bag plain M&M's

1 (14-ounce) jar dry-roasted peanuts

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup Reese's Pieces

1. Mix altogether in a large serving bowl and enjoy the party!

Makes 15 cups.

Ghost Wind Socks
These spectral porch decorations flutter and float upon the breeze.

Materials
White construction paper
Black permanent marker
Stapler
White crepe paper
Tape
String

Total Time Needed: 1 Hour

Instructions
1. For each wind sock, decorate a 6-by-18-inch piece of white construction paper with ghostly eyes and a horrific mouth.
2. Roll the paper to form a tube shape and staple the ends together.
3. Cut eight 8-foot-long strips of crepe paper and drape them over the top edge with both ends hanging down to create "tails." Secure with tape.
4. For a handle, cut a 30-inch piece of string and staple the ends to opposite sides of the top of the decoration.

Tips:
As an interior decoration, have a fan blowing lightly in the room for the same effect as a breeze.

More Independence Day Recipes

Patriotic Parfait from Recipe4Living

Ingredients
1/2 pt./125ml heavy cream

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 qt. strawberries

1 qt. blueberries

1/2 pt. red raspberries

Directions
Whip cream with sugar (or omit sugar altogether and it will taste even better); set aside. Wash fruits and spread out on a terry towel to dry. Puree raspberries in the blender and chill. Slice strawberries. Place some blueberries in the bottom of parfait glasses then add some strawberry slices. Drizzle with a small amount of raspberry puree. Top with some whipped cream. Repeat layers until the glasses are full, ending with whipped cream. Make sure to keep some of the raspberry puree. Just before serving, drizzle the remaining raspberry puree over the whipped cream.

Here is the recipe I am going to try this year, with my kids:

Uncle Sam Ice Cream Cones by Family Fun

This 4th of July, invite your kids to turn ice cream cones into edible, festive Uncle Sam top hats.

1 Wafer ice cream cone
White frosting
Blue fruit leather
Red and blue decorating gels
Red and blue M&M's
Canister of ready-made whipped cream

Step 1 Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a plate and return it to the freezer to harden. Meanwhile, construct an Uncle Sam hat out of a wafer ice cream cone. (I am going to use my Simple Additions, small square plate. That way I can decorate the edge of the white plate with some blue and red sugar!)

Step 2 Use frosting to attach a blue band of fruit leather around the bottom of the cone. Squirt vertical stripes of red decorating gel down the sides and blue gel on the top.

Step 3 Using a star tip, squirt on white frosting stars around the blue fruit leather, if desired. TIP: To avoid smudging the Uncle Sam hat design, have your child hold the cone from the inside while decorating it with fruit leather and icing. (My kids will use the Decorator Bottle Set. The accordion style "bags" are so much easier for kids.)

Step 4 Remove the ice cream-scoop "head" from the freezer and top with the Uncle Sam hat. Working quickly so the ice cream doesn't melt, add blue M&M's eyes and a red M&M's nose. Finally, add a whipped cream beard. To do this, have your child hold the canister upside down while squirting on a long white beard. (I am going to use whipped topping from the freezer section, thawed, and put it in my Easy Accent Decorator. Easier for my kids to use and Cheaper!)

Step 5 Serve up your Uncle Sam ice cream cone immediately. Makes 1

Kids' Strawberry Daiquiris by Family Fun

While you enjoy a true daiquiri, offer your kids this innocent version of the grown-up drink.

6 ice cubes
16 strawberries
1/2 cup frozen concentrated limeade
1/2 cup water

Step 1 Place the ice cubes in a blender or food processor and pulse until they are crushed. Add the strawberries, concentrated limeade and water. Puree the mixture until smooth and thick. Pour into tall glasses with flexistraws. Makes 2 servings.

Berries ‘N Stars by The Pampered Chef

This beautiful, fruit-filled pastry makes a spectacular star-spangled finale.

1 pkg (17.25 oz) frozen puff pastry sheets (2 sheets), thawed
2 lemons
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 qt. strawberries
½ pint blueberries (about 1 cup)
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Unfold one pastry sheet onto lightly floured Rectangle Stone. Roll into 13 x 10-in. rectangle using lightly floured Baker’s Roller®. Move pastry into one corner of the stone, leaving open space along two sides. Unfold second sheet of pastry onto smooth side of Large Grooved Cutting Board; roll to a 13 x 10-in. rectangle. Cut four 1-inch-thick strips lengthwise from second sheet using Pizza Cutter; reserve remaining dough for decoration.

Brush outer edges of pastry on baking stone with water using Chef’s Silicone Basting Brush. Arrange and press strips around edge of pastry, forming an even border. Trim off any excess
dough. Prick entire bottom of pastry with pastry tool.

Cut 16 stars from remaining dough sheet using Creative Cutters (discard remaining dough). Arrange stars in open space along edges of baking stone. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. (Center of crust may puff up slightly, but will flatten out as it cools.) Cool completely. Remove pastry stars from baking stone; set aside.

Meanwhile, zest lemons with Microplane® Adjustable Grater to measure 1 tbsp zest. Juice lemons to measure ¼ cup juice. In Classic Batter Bowl, whisk together condensed milk, lemon zest and juice. Gently fold in whipped topping. Attach desired tip to Easy Accent® Decorator; completely fill with filling mixture (1¹ cups) and set aside for garnish.

Fill cooled pastry shell within border with remaining filling. Hull strawberries using Core & More; slice using Egg Slicer Plus®. Arrange strawberries and blueberries over filling. Garnish with rosettes of reserved filling and pastry stars. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Lightly sprinkle pastry with powdered sugar using Flour/Sugar Shaker.

Yield: 16 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 260, Total Fat 13 g, Saturated Fat 6 g, Cholesterol 10 mg, Carbohydrate 31 g, Protein 4 g, Sodium 180 mg, Fiber 1 g

Cook’s Tip: Thaw puff pastry sheets at room temperature about 1 hour before using or microwave on 20% power for 3-4 minutes until thawed but still cold. Puff pastry that is too warm is difficult to work with.

Trifles, Trifles, Trifles

I have come to enjoy making, looking at, and eating Trifles. They are some pretty fancy looking desserts. And they are an easy way to layer some red, white, and blue. I LOVE my Trifle Bowl. This is one of my funnest investments. Here are a couple recipes you could try:

Summer Berry Trifle from Family Fun

Serving this traditional English dessert in a glass pedestal bowl shows off its impressive layers of ladyfingers, pudding, and colorful fruits. If you don't have one, a regular glass bowl will also do the trick.

1 package (3.4-ounce) instant vanilla pudding
4 cups fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries), washed and hulled, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
24 to 36 ladyfingers

Step 1 To make the fillings, prepare the pudding according to the package directions and chill it.

Step 2 Slice the strawberries, then toss all of the berries with the lemon juice and the 1/4 cup of sugar. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the berries to release their juices.

Step 3 In a medium mixing bowl, whip the cream, vanilla extract, and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Step 4 To make the layers, set a layer of ladyfingers (around 7 or 8) on the bottom of a trifle bowl (ours was 4 quarts). Top with the berries with half of the pudding.

Step 5 Add another layer of ladyfingers, another third of the berries and juice, and the rest of the pudding. Add a final layer of ladyfingers and berries. Top with the whipped cream and a berry garnish.

Step 6 Refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Serves 8 to 10.

Red, White & Blueberry Trifle by Pampered Chef

Juicy berries and delicate angel food cake mingle in this impressive and patriotic summer dessert.

1 prepared angel food cake (13 oz)
1 qt. fresh strawberries
3 cups blueberries
1 container (16 oz) frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed

1 lemon
3 containers (8 oz each) blended strawberry yogurt
1 pkg (3.4 oz) white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling
2 cups thawed frozen whipped topping, divided

Cut cake into 1-in. cubes using Color Coated Bread Knife; set aside. Hull fresh strawberries and cut into quarters. Set aside ½ cup of the strawberries and ½ cup of the blueberries for garnish.

In Classic Batter Bowl, combine remaining fresh and frozen strawberries; mix well. Juice lemon using Juicer to measure 2 tbsp juice. In Stainless (4-qt.) Mixing Bowl, whisk yogurt,
pudding mix and lemon juice until smooth using Stainless Whisk; immediately fold in 1 cup of the whipped topping.

To assemble trifle, place one-third of the cake cubes into Trifle Bowl. Top with one-third of the strawberry mixture and one-third of the blueberries, pressing down lightly. Top with one-third of the yogurt mixture, spreading evenly. Repeat layers two times, spreading last layer evenly using the Small Spreader to create a flat surface.

To garnish, fill Easy Accent® Decorator fitted with open-star tip with remaining whipped topping. Pipe whipped topping over top of trifle; garnish with reserved strawberries and blueberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: 16 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 210, Total Fat 2.5 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbohydrate 44 g, Protein 3 g, Sodium 280 mg, Fiber 2 g

Cook’s Tip: Cheesecake pudding and pie filling or vanilla pudding and pie filling can be substituted for the white chocolate pudding, if desired. If using vanilla pudding, add 6-8 drops of red food coloring for a pinker color, if desired.

Some more tips for a trifle: Be careful of the sides. Don't let any layers run down the sides as you put it in the bowl. The sides of the bowl need to be clear, to see all the layers. Placing the berries against the bowl, or standing them up (see first picture), help to define the red layer. Trifles will taste GREAT no matter what the layers look like. But if you can be careful with the layers, the presentation is really what the trifle is about. You want to see each defined layer.

Good Luck! Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

"Cool" 4th of July

I am always planning holiday fun around food, and kids. Here are some Family Fun red, white, and blue recipes to cool you off.

Patriotic Pops

2 cups blue Powerade, Gatorade, or Kool-Aid
12 5-ounce disposable cups
1 cup frozen whipped topping
1 cup vanilla yogurt
12 craft sticks
2 cups cran-raspberry juice

Step 1 To make the pops, equally divide the blue juice among the plastic cups, then place the cups in the freezer until the juice is partially frozen, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Step 2 Mix together the whipped topping and yogurt and divide this mixture among the cups.

Step 3 Set a craft stick in the center of each pop and return the cups to the freezer for approximately 45 minutes.

Step 4 For the final layer, add the cran-raspberry juice to the cups and place them in the freezer until solid.

Step 5 To remove the pops, run warm water over the outside of each cup.

Frosty Fireworks (Flavored Ice)

One way to make a splash this Fourth of July is by treating your kids to tall glasses of Patriot's Punch. Simply fill an ice cube tray with a red or blue fruit-flavored beverage (such as Powerade, Gatorade, or Kool-Aid) and let the cubes freeze solid. Then drop three or four colored cubes into each glass, pour in flavored seltzer water or clear soda, and watch the special effects. As the cubes melt, colored bubbles will swirl through the seltzer.

This Family Fun recipe reminds me of an old Pampered Chef recipe.

Star-Studded Fruit Jewels
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups water
2 packages (3 ounces each) any flavor gelatin
10 small pieces of fruit such as maraschino cherries or grapes, cut in half, or

20 whole blueberries

Directions:

Lightly spray Star Cube Trays with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour water into Small Micro-Cooker®. Microwave on HIGH 2-2 1/2 minutes or until boiling. Add gelatin to micro-cooker; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.

Place 1 piece of fruit in each well of ice cube tray. Pour gelatin evenly over fruit. (The fruit will float to the top of the well.)

Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Run flat end of Citrus Peeler around edges of gelatin stars to release.

Yield: 10 servings

I hope you enjoy a "cool" holiday.

Easter Cake

I made an Easter Egg Cake for Easter Dinner/ Dessert. It was so easy! Which was the point. I debated weather or not to do a bunny or some cupcakes. But this was truly the easiest. I didn't decorate it with all the cute stripes and dots I wanted to. I didn't make enough icing, and I ran out of time. So... here's what I did. I mixed up a box of cake mix ( I used yellow butter). I poured it into the Classic Batter Bowl, and I baked it at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. It was a little darker on top than I would have liked, but it was done in the middle. I let it cool, in the bowl, on the Stackable Cooling Rack for 15 minutes. Then I released it from the bowl (which had been generously greased), and let it finish cooling in the freezer. When it was cool, I cut it in half vertically. Then layed it big ends together and frosted. Now that I think about it I could have baked smaller eggs in the prep bowls.

That would have been cute! Maybe next year! I colored some flaked coconut green and put it around the sides of the egg as Easter grass, and added some Easter sprinkles to the egg. This is where I would have taken the time to decorate cute lines or dots with other colors, but didn't. What did you do for Easter dinner or dessert? I would love to hear! Leave me a comment.

April Fool's Day!

You know I have to celebrate with Food! I found some fun April Fool's Day recipes and pranks at Family Fun. We had Strawberry Soda, Italian Cheesecake, and Mini Hamburgers for our April Fool's Dinner.

The Strawberry Soda was Strawberry Jell-O poored into four separate "clear" plastic cups, with straws, then set. It was hilarious! As soon as the prayer was said, both boys started drinking. They couldn't get anything to come up! It was fun. They added a dollop of Whipped Topping and ate it with a spoon. They were so sure I was treating them to Soda Pop for dinner! FUN!

The Italian Cheesecake was "spaghetti pie" The recipe I used actually called it Spaghetti Torte.

Here's the recipe:

Bet you've never had spaghetti like this before! It looks like a fancy torte, but it's still the same pasta, sauce and cheese combo that the whole family loves.
What you'll need:
· A large spring form pan, generously greased
· Your favorite pasta sauce
· A pound of pasta
· Mozzarella or provolone cheese
· Ricotta cheese or more pasta sauce for "frosting"
Toss your favorite pasta sauce with about a pound of cooked pasta.
Gently fold a couple of beaten eggs into the pasta mixture, and then spread half of this mixture into the well-greased spring form pan.
Sprinkle the pasta with shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese, and then cover the cheese with the remaining pasta mixture.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
Allow your spaghetti "cake" to rest for about 15 minutes before un-molding it from the spring form pan. "Frost" this tasty cake with ricotta cheese or drizzle it with more pasta sauce just before serving.



Mine probably doesn't look as much like dessert as it should. But it tasted good. Except for the ricotta cheese frosting. It was cold compared to the spaghetti, since it didn't bake. I don't know how it would look if you baked it? I wonder what smaller pasta would look like?

And the other fun recipe was Mini Hamburgers.


Ingredients:
4 drops green food coloring
1/2 teaspoon water
1/4 cup flaked coconut
48 vanilla wafers
24 chocolate covered thin mints
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Red and Yellow Frosting

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, combine food coloring with a few drops of water. Add coconut and cover the container, shake until coconut is tinted. Set aside.
3. Place 1/2 of the vanilla wafers, flat side up, in an un-greased cookie sheet. Top each wafer with a peppermint patty. Place in the oven about 1 minute or just until chocolate begins to soften.
4. Remove cookies from oven and sprinkle each mint with 1/2 teaspoon coconut (for lettuce). On the "top" bun add a little red and yellow frosting for ketchup and mustard. Place this wafer on top and press gentle. With a clean paint brush, brush the top of each hamburger with just enough water to moisten so that the sesame seeds will stick when sprinkled on top of each cookie.

Happy April Fool's Day!