Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Scary Good!

Okay, I'll be the first to admit, I don't really enjoy cooking with my kids. There, I said it. It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with them, because I do. I can just think of 1000 other ways that I would rather do it! It's not the kids that make it unenjoyable, it's the actual cooking itself.  Heck, I don't really even like cooking without my kids! I hate the preparation but even more than that, I hate cleaning up my mess!  I'm not a "cooker", never have been.  I do enjoy baking, but even that manages to stress me out if done in large doses! 
 But, I thought in honor of Halloween I'd suck it up, put on my Perfect Mom costume and do a few fun and easy Halloween cooking projects with them!  We found a couple of recipes online and got cookin'!




Hot Dog Mummies
(Makes 10) 
These were so stinkin' easy!  The kids literally did everything themselves.  All they really needed me for was to get them in and out of the oven and Hannah probably could've handled that if I had let her.


Ingredients
1 can of refrigerated breadstick dough
10 Hot Dogs
Mustard (optional)

Directions
*Separate the dough into individual pieces. 
*Use scissors or a knife to cut each raw breadstick into 2 strips
*Wrap the strips around each hot dog, starting at the bottom, to cover the hot dog like a wrapped bandage.

*Leave a small area unwrapped at the top (this will be the “face”).

*Wrap a final piece of dough around the end of the mummy in a turban fashion.

*Place the wrapped mummies on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 15 to 18 minutes until the dough is golden brown.

*Let cool for 3 or 4 minutes, then use the mustard to draw a face on the exposed area of the hot dog.
 Mummy in your tummy!


Tombstone Cupcakes
Makes 20 - 24
These were more work than the Mummies but the kids had so much fun making these!



Ingredients
*1 box cake mix
*16 ounces chocolate frosting
*3/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (we used oreo’s)
*Milano Cookies (or any oblong shaped cookies.  We used some vanilla sandwich cookies and pulled them apart.  We scraped the frosting out of the center and we got 2 “headstones" out of each cookie.)
*Black piping gel (you can find this at almost any grocery store.  Wilton and Betty Crocker both make it)
Directions
*Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes.




*Lick the beaters and crumble up your cookies while you are waiting for your cupcakes to cook.

*Once they are out of the oven and cooled completely, frost them, and cover generously with the cookie crumbs.





*Use the piping gel to write "RIP", Mom, or the names of every person in your family, like my kids did on each cookie.


*Stand each cookie up and push down into the top of the cupcake to create a headstone. 


Enjoy your Graveyard!





Monday, October 11, 2010

Tricks or Treats?



Ahh, Halloween is upon us. I have to say, I have a love/hate relationship with Halloween since I became a parent. I LOVE seeing the kids in their costumes and running door to door filling their bags with goodies. I LOVE watching them get so excited to get to stay up past their bedtimes so they can dump their loot all over the floor as they marvel at what they have collected!

What, I HATE is all of the hooplah that occurs in preparation for the big day! I always find myself stressing about costumes, accessories, etc and end up putting it off until the last minute. And the fact that they charge $30 for a costume that looks like it was made out of crepe paper and hot glue just adds insult to injury!

This year I had the kids start looking early. I was determined not to do my usual procrastination dance. We made several trips to the local Halloween store so the kids could get an idea of what they wanted. Once they made their decisions I got busy looking online for a better deal! I gotta say, I'm pretty darn proud of myself this year! I not only got their costumes early but I saved nearly HALF of what I would have paid at the local Halloween store! Plus, all three kids costumes fit, which is always a concern when ordering online.


It feels so good to have it done and just be able to look forward to trick-or-treating!
Now, lets see if it carries over to Christmas shopping! I'm not counting on it!