Deliciously Scary and Fun Halloween Recipes

Halloween is absolutely my favorite time of year; I love the costumes, the decorations, and of course, the treats! Here I have listed some of my most deliciously scary and fun Halloween recipes. Please feel free to leave one of your favorite Halloween recipes in the comments section to share with me!

FUN AND SCARY HALLOWEEN RECIPES

Jack-O-Lantern Casserole

• 1 medium pumpkin
• 1 chopped onion
• 1-2 pounds ground beef
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 (4oz) can mushrooms (optional)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 ½ - 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 (8oz) can sliced water chestnuts

Clean out a pumpkin and decorate the outside with black permanent marker.

Brown the hamburger and onion. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Put pumpkin on cookie sheet. Fill pumpkin with hamburger mixture and bake pumpkin with lid for 1 hour at 350 F or until the pumpkin is tender. Serve casserole out of the pumpkin!

Spooky Eyeball Tacos

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pkg. Taco Seasoning mix
• 12 taco shells
• ¾ cup chunky salsa
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1 can sliced pitted ripe olives
• Chopped lettuce

Mix meat and seasoning mix and shape into 36 (1 inch) balls. Place on large bar pan and bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked all the way through. Fill each taco shell with 1 meatball and chopped lettuce then drizzle with salsa. Top with two meatballs dipped in sour cream and garnished with olives to make the eyeballs!

Butterfinger Carmel Apples

• 6 wooden craft sticks (found in cake decorating or hobby shops)
• 6 tart apples-firm
• 1 package caramels (about 50)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 Nestle Butterfinger Candy Bars

Line a bar tray with wax paper. Insert 1 wooden stick into the stem of each apple.

Microwave caramels and water in large, microwave safe bowl on HIGH power for 2 minutes. Then microwave at 15 second intervals stirring until mixture is smooth.

Dip each apple in then melted caramel and then quickly roll bottom half of apples in chopped Butterfinger candies and place pan (stick up). Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until caramel has set. Store the apples in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Apples are best if they are served the same day as they are prepared. NOTE: If caramel becomes firm, return to microwave oven for 20-30 seconds or until dipping consistency.

Cook's Tip: Be sure apples are completely dry before dipping - otherwise the caramel will not stick to the apple.

Easy Pumpkin Pie

• 1-1/4 c. all purpose flour
• 3/4 c. quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c. pecans, chopped
• 2/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
• 4 eggs
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) solid pack pumpkin
• 2 cans (14 oz. each) sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
• 2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 t. ground ginger
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
• 1 t. salt
• Thawed frozen whipped topping (optional)
• Pecan halves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, oats, and brown sugar. Chop pecans and add them to mixture.

Melt butter on HIGH 1 minute or until melted. Add to dry ingredients; mix well. Press mixture onto bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly beat eggs. Add pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, spices and salt; whisk until smooth. Pour over crust.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until filling is set and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool at room temperature. Cut into squares.

Garnish each serving with whipped topping, pecan halves and additional ground cinnamon, if desired. Refrigerate any leftover pie squares. 24 servings

Homemade Gummy Worms

Peel 10 apples and throw the fresht peels in a zip lock bag. Pour in your favorite flavor of dry Jell-O mix. Seal the bag and shake it until the peels are well coated. Lay them out on a flat pan and bake at 250 F for 30-45 minutes. They taste just like gummy worms and are nutritious since they are made with apple peels and not just sugar.

Tarantula Cake

Bake 1 Devil's Food Cake Mix in the 2-qt Batter Bowl and about half of another in the 1-qt Batter Bowl. Turn them upside down (after they have baked and cooled.) The 2-qt is the "body" part and 1-qt is the "head" part. Use brown sprinkles for "hair" and black licorice strips for legs. Use black gumdrops for eyes.

Witch's Hats

• Bag of Hershey kisses
• Bag of Fudge Stripe Cookies (the kind with a chocolate side and stripes on the other side)

If desired, a tube of orange frosting (the small tube with a fine tip works best)
Unwrap a kiss. Turn over a cookie so that the plain chocolate side is face up. Place a dab of frosting (or peanut butter on the bottom of the kiss. Place kiss in the middle of the cookie. Add a band and bow with orange frosting. There you have it, a Witch's Hat!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• 4-1/4 cups raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a medium mixing bowl combine pumpkin seeds, cooking oil, and salt. Spread mixture onto a waxed-paper-lined Bar Pan. Let stand for 24 to 48 hours or till dry, stirring occasionally. Remove waxed paper Bar Pan Toast seed in a 325º F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice. Let cool slightly. Pat seeds with paper towels to remove excess oil.

Some Tips to make your Halloween just a little less scary!!!

1. Sprinkle Cinnamon and nutmeg all over the inside of your pumpkin. When the candle is lit it will smell like pumpkin pie.
2. When your pumpkin starts to look a little shriveled place the ENTIRE pumpkin into a sink or bucket of warm water. After an hour or so it will expand back and look fresh! This is a great tip so you can enjoy your pumpkin longer.
3. Chop leftover Halloween candy and store in freezer. This makes great additions to muffins, cakes, and brownies.