GRILLED JACK O LANTERN SANDWICHES

Preheat oven 350º.

Butter one side of 2 slices of bread for each sandwich.

Place butter side down on an ungreased baking pan or cookie sheet.

Place a slice of cheese onto the whole slice of the bread.

Using cookie cutters or a sharp knife cut out jack o lantern faces on the other slice of bread.

Place butter side down on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cheese starts to melt.

Remove the bread with the cheese from the pan and place on your serving dish.

Place the jack o lantern face onto the cheese half leaving the brown side up.

Serve warm, and your goblins will enjoy!

TOXIC PUNCH

Make up this toxic green punch in a flash for your guests.

In a large heat proof bowl, combine 2 small packages of green jello and 1 cup boiling water. Stir well until all of the gelatin is dissolved.

Next stir in 3 cups of cold water and ½ cup superfine sugar. Stir until all ingredients are well combined.

Just before serving, combine your green jello mix and 1 ½ quarts of carbonated lemon/lime soda into your serving bowl.

Next add in an ice ring of choice and your toxic punch is complete! This will serve approx 10-12 ghouls and goblins.

WORMY GRAB BAG

If you are having a party for kids, a great idea for a grab bag is the worm pail.

Find the appropriate number of prizes for the number of kids that will be attending. Seal them well into plastic bags and set aside.

Locate a container large enough to hold the prizes, plus a bunch of cooked spaghetti noodles.

Cook up a bunch of spaghetti noodles according to package directions except let cook an extra 5 minutes or so to get really over done, big and puffy.

Strain off the water and rinse well to remove any remaining starch from the noodles.

Dump the noodles into the container and keep in a cool place until the party.

Clean a bunch of round grapes and place in the refrigerator to get nice and cold.

Just before the guests arrive, place the grapes and the prizes in the noodles and mix well, add a cup of water and mix if the noodles start getting sticky.

Cover the container with a piece of black felt that you have cut a slit into. Now when the kids arrive they can poke their hand into the container and feel through the worms and eyeballs to find their prize.

HOT DOG OCTOPUS

Make up some fun octopus hot dogs for your kids next meal.

Take an ordinary hot dog and cut in half lengthwise, stopping about 1 inch from the top of the dog.

Roll the hotdog about half way and cut again the same distance from the top. Cut 2 more times so that you have 8 “legs”.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the hot dog according to the package directions.

Make sure that you don’t cook too many at once or the legs will get tangled. As they cook the legs will curl up.

Remove the hot dog from the water and place the uncut portion up right on top of a bed of spinach pasta with the legs overflowing on the pasta.

Using mustard or ketchup squeeze a couple of dots on the uncut portion as eyes.

This is sure to delight young and old alike.

CREEPY SPIDERS

Take 5 large marshmallows and cut in half.

Cut some thin licorice ropes into 40 4inch long strips.

Place the licorice into rows on a piece of waxed paper, with 4 strips per bunch.

Melt 2 cups of chocolate chips and add 1tsp of vegetable oil.

Dip a marshmallow body into the melted chocolate and coat well.

Place the chocolate coated marshmallow on the center of one of the stacks of licorice so that they protrude like legs.

While the chocolate is still soft, add 2 red hot candies for eyes.

Once they are cool and the chocolate has hardened, remove from the waxed paper and place all over your table for your little goblins to devour.

BLOODY PUDDING

Bloody pudding is a real treat, and will really get a rise out of your kids if you make up a really good ghost story to go along with it when you serve it!

Prepare one small package of instant vanilla pudding using only 1½ cups of milk.

Place in the refrigerator until set.

Just before serving, fold in 1 cup of nondairy whipped topping.

Spoon the mixture into 6 bowls and spoon a large tablespoon of raspberry or strawberry jam into each bowl.

Stir just slightly to give the pudding the “bloody” streaks.

WORMY BURGERS

These Wormy Burgers will really get the kids talking!

Take a hot dog for each guest and cut in half, roll the hot dog a quarter turn and cut again to make a total of 4 pieces.

Now take each hot dog piece and cut in half again to make a total of 8 pieces.

Microwave or broil hot dogs until they are warm and start to curl.

Place some of the “worms” onto a hamburger bun and serve with ketchup.

WORM CASSEROLE

Since we are on the Halloween kick now, why not make a worm casserole for everyone!

Simply cook up an 8 oz package of spaghetti and a 6 oz package of egg noodles according to package directions. Strain off the water and place both into a large bowl.

Toss in 2 Tablespoons of butter and 1 ½ Cups of grated cheddar cheese.

Place the combination into a large greased casserole dish and set aside.

Mix 2 slices of whole wheat bread crumbs with 1 Tablespoon of melted butter and a couple of dashes of salt.

Sprinkle the “dirt” over your “worms”.

Broil for 5 minutes until cheese just melts and top just starts to brown.

Serve hot and watch the kids dig in!

WITCHES HANDS

If you really want to have some fun with your kids on Halloween night, make up some witches hands for dinner.

Oil a large cookie sheet well. Preheat the oven to 350. Using 4 chicken breasts, cut the skinny end into 5 fingers, being careful not to cut them off. The uncut portion at the large end will be the palm of the hand)

Dredge each hand in flour covering well.

Beat one egg, and dip each breast into it coating well.

Dredge the flour/egg covered chicken into seasoned bread crumbs and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 25 - 30 minutes until cooked through.

Just before serving, slice some black or green olives in half lengthwise and place on the ends of the finger for the nails.

GREEN SLIME

If you are having tons of fun grossing out your guests, make up some green slime to serve.

Just mix up a batch of green jello and let set in the refrigerator.

Just before serving, using a wire whisk, break up the jello so that it resembles a green slimey mess.

Serve up to your guests while still cold.

CRISPY EYEBALLS

When you are having your Halloween party, a great treat to make is Rice Crispie Treat Eyeballs.

Make up your rice crispy treats as normal, except at the end form them into 2 inch balls instead of pressing into a pan.

Make up a bit of chocolate frosting or white frosting that has been tinted blue.

Place a small round of frosting on each eyeball for the iris, then place a brown M&M or round black licorice piece in the center of the frosting for the pupil.

These are guaranteed to delight your guests!

GHOST SUCKERS

A fun treat to make for a group of trick or treaters is to make ghost suckers.

Pick up a bag of suckers from your local grocery store, a box of small hair rubber bands (or a spool of ribbon) and a box of white Kleenex.

When you get home, lay a tissue flat and place a sucker in the middle.

Fold the tissue in half over the sucker then gather just below the candy.

Using a rubber band or length of ribbon, secure the tissue just below the candy.

Now using a marker make 2 dots for the eyes.

Your ghostly suckers are ready for haunting!

CHOCOLATE HAYSTACKS

An often forgotten treat that is so super simple to make during the fall is Haystacks.

We always had these around the house around Halloween, and they are so simple to make that anyone can have them any time.

Simply melt a 12 ounce package of chocolate chips and dump over 1 can of Chow Mien Noodles.

Mix well with a wooden spoon until all of the noodles are covered with chocolate.

Using a teaspoon scoop up some of the mixture and drop onto a piece of waxed paper that has been placed on a cookie sheet or large cutting board.

Let sit in a cool place until chocolate cools and becomes solid again.

COLORED SUGAR

When you are making up sugar cookies for Halloween it is sometimes fun to use colored sugar as part of the decoration before you make them. Then when you pull them out of the oven you can just pipe on a bit of frosting and they are done.

To make colored sugar, measure about 1 cup of sugar into a zip lock style baggie. Add about 2 drops of food color and close the bag. Knead the bag well to mix the color into the sugar until uniform in hue.

If you want to make orange, use one drop of red and one drop of yellow.

For purple use one drop of blue and one drop of red.

If you would like stronger colors, increase the coloring one drop at a time. Don't add too much or your sugar will become mush.

CHEESE CLOTH GHOSTS

To make up some fun ghosties, raid your cheese cloth supply. Get some fabric stiffener from your local craft store and follow the directions for preparation.

Blow up some smaller balloons and place on top of tall drinking glasses or bottles. Coat the cheesecloth into the stiffner according to directions and drape over the balloons. Use layers of cheesecloth for different effects.

Let sit at least over night to dry. Once dry affix wiggle eyes or paint on eyes of choice.

You can hang on a string in the house /outside or you can set them on the floor around the house. Let your imagination go!

DRY ICE

Dry ice is fun to use for different Halloween tricks or treats, but please remember to NEVER touch dry ice with your bare hands or any other place on your body.

If you need to work with it always use heavy gloves and/or tongs.

Dry is often hard to locate, but some bakery or ice cream specialty shops do carry it. Call around and see what you can find.

You can drop a few pieces into your punch or any other liquid to create a ghostly fog.

Do not allow any to be scooped up into a cup that you would drink from, nor let small children near it unsupervised.

Dry ice should not hurt you to drink anything that it has been in, you just don't want it to make contact with your skin or inhale too much of the fog. Always use in a well ventilated area.

When storing dry ice before your party, keep it in an insulated container. Do not make the container airtight. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and if kept in an airtight environment it could cause an explosion.

Dry ice will evaporate at the rate of about 5-10lbs per 24 hours depending on conditions, so make sure that you pick it up as close to the time that you need it as you can.

On your trip home, keep the windows of your car cracked as breathing in the fumes as it dissipates can cause medical problems.

Do not store dry ice in your freezer. If you place it in the freezer it will shut off the thermostat for your freezer and use itself up keeping everything else cold.

Do not place dry ice directly on top of a tiled countertop of solid surface as the extreme cold could crack it.

If you have any left over ice that you didn't use, just leave it unwrapped in a well ventilated area and it will dissipate on it's own.

If you do come in contact with the ice and you see a bit of red, treat as you would a burn, and it will heal as a burn would heal. If you note that there is blistering or any other abnormality, contact a physician. All warnings noted, Have fun!

HALLOWEEN PARTY INVITATIONS

If you want to make a quick and easy party invitation just pick up some black and white paper.

Fold the black paper in half, and not cutting completely through the folded end cut out a bat, coffin, cat or spooky house.

From the white paper cut out a ghost that will fit mostly inside, or for a little fun, make him bigger so that he peeks out of the top or bottom.

Glue him inside your invitation and write your info on him with a red or orange pen. Have some fun and get creative!

"HANDY" PUNCH

If you want to liven up your punch a bit at your next Halloween party, go to your local medical supply store and pick up a box of non-latex disposable gloves.

Take out a few of the gloves and rinse them inside and out well with warm water to remove any powder.

Fill the gloves with water or colored juice (different color than your punch) and tightly seal the end using a chip clip or other method.

Place the glove onto a cookie sheet and place into the freezer. Freeze at least 3 hours until frozen solid.(preferably make up the night before)

When you have your punch made and guests arriving, remove the "hands" from the freezer and rinse under warm water to loosen up the glove. Remove the glove from the ice had and place in your punch bowl.

CANDY CORN CONTAINERS

To make some great appetizer dishes find some clean dry terra cotta pots.

Using some lead free craft paint, paint the bottom third of the pot white, the middle third orange and the top third and inside yellow.

If the hole in the bottom of the pot is large enough for your snacks to fall through, place a small folded up paper towel or piece of aluminum foil large enough to block the hole.

If you are planning on putting a dip of some kind in the pot, like the interior with plastic wrap.

SPIDER CAKE

This cake is a lot of fun for parties or just for the heck of it.

Earlier in the day, whip up about 2 cups of whipped cream and add in 1 small box of dry lime jello mix. Mix well and cover. Let set in the refrigerator.

Locate 2 oven proof bowls and set aside. (they to not need to be the same size, one can be slightly larger than the other)

Make up a batch or chocolate cake, divide the cake between the two bowls so that the same depth of cake is in each. Bake according to directions for a round pan cake. You will want to monitor for doneness, some may take longer-shorter to bake depending on your bowl size.

Remove the cakes from the bowls after baking and let cool thoroughly.

When cool, cut the cake in half horizontally about 1 inch from the bottom. Turn the top part over and carefully scoop out the center leaving at least 1 inch of cake around the outside.

Fill the cavity with your green jello and place the bottom back on to the filled round. Repeat with the second cake.

Place the 2 filled rounds onto a large serving platter next to each other, this will be the body.

Mix up a batch of chocolate frosting and add enough blue food coloring to make a black looking icing and ice the cake rounds. Using 6 pieces of black licorice arrange them off to the side for the spiders legs. You can use a couple of large green gumballs or gumdrops for the eyes on the smaller cake.

Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

PUMPKIN SEEDS

OK, the pumpkin is gutted and carved, now you are trying to figure out what to do with the seeds.

Toasting the seeds will make a healthy and tasty snack.

From your seeds remove as many of the membranes as possible and throw away.

Place a large pan on the stove and fill with water. Add salt to the water using about 1 teaspoon for every cup. Bring the water to a boil and add your pumpkin seeds.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for about 2 hours. Remove from the heat and drain off all the water.

Place the seeds onto paper towels that have been placed on to wire racks and let sit in a cool dry place for at least 4 hours until dry.

Place the seeds into a large bowl and add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and mix until all of the seeds are coated with oil. Place the seeds onto a clean dry baking sheet and place into an oven preheated to 350º.

Bake the seeds for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and sprinkle lightly with salt and let cool.

You can serve immediately or you can store in a tightly sealed jar or container for up to 1 year.

HALLOWEEN ICE RING

To make a creepy or fun ice ring is a snap and will liven up any punch Find a Ring jello mold or use any cake pan that you might have that will fit inside your punch bowl comfortably.

Arrange 1 – 2 cups of gummy worms, candy corn or candy pumpkins into the bottom of the cake pan/ring.

Add 1 quart of colored punch of choice. Best choices to really stand out are to use a contrasting color of your punch. If you have green punch, use lemonade or pineapple juice, if you have red punch use orange kool aid or other like drink.

Place the cake pan/ring into the freezer and freeze until solid, at least over night.

PUMPKIN CAKE

Oh what fun we can have for Halloween! This is a great cake for a party or a large grouping of people as it is made with 2 cake mixes.

Locate a bundt cake pan. Mix up one recipe of cake mix, (any kind, I prefer to use yellow) and bake up according to directions. Remove the cake from the pan and bake up a second recipe of cake mix and repeat.

While the cake is cooling, mix up a double batch of white frosting. Once the frosting is mixed, remove about ½ cup of frosting, cover and set aside.

Add about 3-4 drops of red and yellow food coloring and mix well until you have orange frosting. To your reserved frosting, add 1-2 drops of green food coloring, mix well and re-cover.

Place the first bundt cake upside down onto a serving platter so that the flat bottom is facing up. Using about 1 cup of orange frosting frost the entire flat area on top.

Place the second bundt cake on top of the first cake so that the flat sides are together with the frosting between them. Your cake now resembles a pumpkin.

Using the remaining orange frosting, frost the entire outside of the cake.

With the reserved green frosting, locate a standard ice cream cone and frost it well all around the outside. Place the cone upside down in the hole for the stem.

If you are really creative use any left over green frosting for piping leaves and or vines around your pumpkin.

Crumble up chocolate cookies for the base of the plate to resemble dirt or use licorice pieces or chocolate frosting with a bit of blue added to make a jack o lantern face on him

HALLOWEEN CHIPS

Have a little fun and make some Halloween Chips for everyone.

Allow one large tortilla per person. Using Halloween cookie cutters cut Halloween shapes out of large flour tortillas.

Once all of your cutouts are made, brush the front and back of each critter with oil.

Broil each side just until brown, about 5-6 minutes depending on broiler.

Serve with some ghoulish dip.

HALLOWEEN CRISPIE SNACKS

Halloween is coming. Now is the time to create all of the great goodies that you really only get to enjoy this time of year.

Have a little fun at the office or you're your tots at home and make a batch of Rice Crispie treats.

Before you are done mixing all the ingredients throw in a handfull of candy corn or Indian corn to make a cheerful treat!

If you want to get really creative add 2 drops of red and yellow food coloring to your marshmallows just after they are melted to give your treats an orange glow!

HALLOWEEN HOT DOG MUMMIES

For a quick and fun Halloween dinner before heading out the door trick or treating is hot dog mummies.

Preheat your oven to 375º.

Open a package of raw bread stick dough and a package of hot dogs.

Starting from one end of the hot dog, wrap it with the bread stick dough leaving just a bit of the other end exposed.

Place onto ungreased baking dish and bake for 14-16 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven, use mustard or ketchup to make dot eyes on the exposed hot dog.

Serve hot and watch your goblins devour.