Top 5 Halloween Treats that Won’t Hurt Your Grocery Budget

My kids look forward to creating edible treats that resemble various Halloween symbols. Unfortunately, I have a weekly food budget that doesn't include lavish treats with 10 or more ingredients in the recipe. Of course, I don't want to stifle my girls when it comes to celebrating a holiday, so I came up with five treats that won't put a dent in my grocery budget.

1. Severed Fingers

Ingredients to add to your shopping list:

Ÿ Mozzarella string cheese

Ÿ Fruit roll-ups

Procedure:

Cut each stick of string cheese in half to create two fingers. Carve out a fingernail shape from a fruit roll-up, and attach it to the tip of the finger. Cut a few grooves in the string cheese to resemble knuckles, and you have yourself a tray of severed fingers.

2. Pumpkin Balls

Ingredients to add to your shopping list:

Ÿ Cheddar cold pack cheese spread

Ÿ Mini pretzel sticks

Ÿ Mint leaves

Procedure:

Roll up the cheddar cold pack cheese spread into small balls so that they resemble pumpkins. Set the pumpkin balls on a sheet of wax paper. Insert a piece of a pretzel stick into the center of each pumpkin ball. Add a mint leaf to the side of each pretzel stick. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

3. Graveyard Scene

Ingredients to add to your shopping list:

Ÿ 8 oz. package cream cheese

Ÿ 1 package chocolate sandwich cookies

Ÿ 1 bag gummy worms

Ÿ 1 box Nilla wafers

Procedure:

Spread a package of cream cheese across the bottom of small square pan. Crumble a package of chocolate sandwich cookies over the cream cheese to resemble dirt. Cut several Nilla wafers in half and place them in the dirt to act as the gravestones. Add gummy worms around some of the gravestones. Optional: Use icing to spell "RIP" on the gravestones.

4. Ghost Sandwich

Ingredients to add to your shopping list:

Ÿ Loaf of white bread

Ÿ Jar of peanut butter

Ÿ Bag of chocolate chips

Procedure:

Spread a layer of peanut butter in between two slices of bread. Use a ghost cookie cutter to create your ghost sandwich. Finish the ghost look by sticking two chocolate chips on the top of the bread to obtain a creepy eye illusion.

5. Chocolate Boogers

Ingredients to add to your shopping list:

Ÿ 1 block white chocolate

Ÿ Green food coloring

Ÿ Bag of breadsticks

Procedure:

Melt a block of white chocolate in a microwave safe dish. Add 8 drops of green food coloring and stir. While the green chocolate still soft, dip the top half of several breadsticks in it. Set on a sheet of wax paper and cool in the fridge. The breadsticks will look like they are coated in boogers.