SCARY SNACKS: CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN with Hauntingly Good Recipes

Scary Blue Dip with Fresh Veggies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • blue food color

assortment of fresh vegetables such as: carrot sticks, celery sticks, green, orange or red pepper slices, broccoli and cauliflower florets

assorted crackers

Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, lemon juice and dill in a large bowl. Stir in drops of the blue food until the desired shade is reached. Spoon the dip into a small, decorative bow and cover. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

To serve, surround the dip with the fresh vegetables on a large serving platter or tray. Serve assorted crackers on the side. Serves 8 or more.

Chili-Cornbread Squares

Ingredients: Chili

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 14-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons hot or mild chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
  • pinch black pepper (optional)

Ingredients: Cornbread

  • 1 cup yellow corn meal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 drops red color
  • 6 drops yellow food color

Chili: Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Raise the heat to medium, add the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off the excess fat, if desired. Add the tomatoes, chili powder, and salt. Stir in the cumin and black pepper, if desired. Simmer the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the chili thickens. Set aside and cool to warm.

Cornbread: In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour the milk into a separate bowl, add the egg and whisk together until blended. Whisk in the vegetable oil. Stir in the food coloring to achieve a pleasing shade of orange. Pour the cornbread mixture into a well oiled 9 1/2 x 12-inch baking dish and spoon the chili over top.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares. Serves 8 to 12.

Cinnamon Popcorn

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels

Ingredients: Cinnamon Topping

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 heaping tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon oil
  • 16 drops red food color

Prepare a brown paper Hyvee Grocery bag by trimming off the top 3 inches of the bag. Set aside.

Pour the peanut oil into a Dutch oven or large, heavy pan. Add the popcorn kernels and cover the pan with a lid, slightly ajar. Heat the oil and kernels over medium-high heat. When the kernels begin to pop, cover tightly. Using hot pads or oven mittens, shake the pan gently every few seconds, securely holding the lid in place, until the popping stops. Pour the popped corn into the grocery bag.

Cinnamon Topping: In a small saucepan, heat the butter, sugar and corn syrup over low heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Stir in the soda and remove the pan from the heat. Add the cinnamon oil and red food color and stir to combine. Pour about one-third of the cinnamon topping over the popped corn. Shake the bag to distribute the mixture, then repeat two more times until all of the topping is used. Roll down the top of the bag to close and place it in a microwave oven.

Microwave the popcorn on high for a total of 90 seconds. Every 30 seconds, remove the bag and shake; then turn it over and return it to the microwave. Spread the cinnamon popcorn out on to a large tray to cool. Serves 8 or more.

Chocolate Pizza

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon soda
  • 1/4 cup (3 mini packages) Reese's Pieces
  • 2 ounces white chocolate, shaved

Using an electric mixer, blend the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract and blend. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and soda. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the butter mixture, mixing just until combined. Place the chocolate pizza dough on waxed paper. Wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or until well chilled.

Place the chilled pizza dough between two sheets of waxed paper and sprinkle with a small amount flour to keep it from sticking. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and invert the dough onto a oiled 12-inch pizza pan. Remove the remaining sheet of waxed paper. Scatter the Reese's Pieces evenly over the dough.

Bake the pizza in a 350 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until set. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the white chocolate shaving over top. Cool and cut into wedges to serve. Serves 8 to 12.

Hot Mulled Cider

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts apple cider
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
  • 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
  • 1 orange, cut in half and sliced into 8 wedges
  • 8 whole cloves

Pour the apple cider into a crock pot. Stir in the brown sugar and a pinch of nutmeg and salt. Wrap the cloves, allspice berries and cinnamon stick in small piece of cheesecloth and tie with string. Place the spice bundle in the crock pot.

Cover the crock pot with a lid and heat the cider on high heat for 1 to 2 hours, until hot. Reduce the heat to low and keep the cider warm for several hours. Remove the spice bundle after 3 hours. To serve, ladle the cider into mugs and garnish each with a clove-studded orange wedge. Serves 8.

Recipes by Jayni Carey, © Copyright, 2004.

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