Senior Track  

Halloween 

Pumpkin Seeds

• Seeds of one pumpkin

• salt

First, extract the seeds from the pumpkin and separate and discard the pulp.  Thoroughly wash seeds in warm water and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt. Bake for 20 minutes at 350º, stirring every 5 minutes and adding more salt to taste. To test if seeds are done, allow one to cool and open it. If insides are dry, the seeds are ready. Allow the remaining seeds to cool before serving. Leftover seeds can be kept fresh in an airtight container or frozen for extended periods.

Variations: Replace the salt from the recipe with the following:

• For cheesy pumpkin seeds, sprinkle with cheesy popcorn seasoning

• For hot seeds, try powdered taco seasoning. Mix in a bowl first and then add red pepper powder for more flavor

• Use Cajun Seasoning and extra hot sauce or Cajun-style seeds

• For garlic lovers, try garlic salt

Pumpkin Fudge

• 1 cup milk

• 3 cups granulated sugar

• 2 tbl light corn syrup

• 1/2 cup pumpkin

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp allspice

• 4 tbl margarine

• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine milk, sugar, corn syrup, pumpkin and salt in a large pan. Cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly. When mixture comes to a full boil, reduce heat and simmer until mixture comes to the softball stage. Remove from heat. Beat in cinnamon, allspice, margarine and vanilla. Once it cools, beat until thick and mixture loses its gloss. Spoon into buttered dish; cut in squares to serve.

Pumpkin Butter

• 2½ cups fresh pumpkin, cooked and mashed

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup apple cider or orange slice

• 2½ tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp allspice and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg)

Combine all ingredients in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until the mixture thickens. Cook and refrigerate. Makes about 2 cups.

Pumpkin Milkshake

• 1 frozen, peeled banana

• 3 tbl orange juice concentrate

• 3 tbl pumpkin puree

• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

• 1/3 cup water

Cut frozen banana into slices. Blend with other ingredients in a blender on high until smooth. Pour into two tall glasses and serve. For added presentation, top the shake with whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon.

Chocolate Caramel Apples

• 1 pkg (14 oz) caramels

• 2 tbl water

• 4 wooden sticks

• 4 large tart apples

• 2 cups chopped pecans or peanuts

• 1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 tsp shortening

• 1 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the caramels and water. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 minutes; stir. Microwave 30-45 seconds longer or until the caramels are melted. Insert wooden sticks into apples; dip apples into the caramel mixture, turning to coat. Coat with nuts; set on waxed paper to cool. 

Melt chocolate chips and shortening; drizzle over apples. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Set on waxed paper to cool Cut into wedges to serve. Makes 8 servings.

 Pizza Dip in a Pumpkin

• 1 small pie pumpkin (about 2½ pounds)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion

• 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

• 1 tbl butter or margarine

• 2½ cups pizza sauce

• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1/2 cup finely chopped pepperoni

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

• Breadsticks

Cut top off pumpkin, scoop out seeds and fibers. Replace top; place pumpkin on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until hot. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Stir in the pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Cook and stir over medium heat until dip is heated through and cheese is melted. Pour into hot pumpkin. Serve with breadsticks. 

*Get out your cookie cutters and serve bread cut into shapes of ghosts, cats, pumpkins and bats. 

Orange Halloween Punch

• 1 can (46 oz) pineapple juice, chilled

• 3 cups lemon-lime soda, chilled

• 3 cups orange drink

• 2 liters ginger ale, chilled

• 1/2 gallon orange sherbet

In a punch bowl, combine the juice, soda and orange drink. Stir in ginger ale. Top with scoops of sherbet. Serve immediately. Make about 6 quarts.

Halloween on a Budget

Here are a few tips to help budget-strapped families make their little gremlins happy.

Face Paint - 1 teaspoon corn starch, 1/2 teaspoon water, 1/2 teaspoon cold cream, food coloring. Mix all ingredients in an old muffin pan and you are ready to paint. Use the same amount of ingredients for each color.

Deviled Eyeballs - Make deviled eggs, then add a green olive with pimento in the center for an eyeball.

Radioactive Juice - Mix equal parts Mountain Dew and blue Kool-Aid.

Toxic Juice - Add some green food coloring to lemonade for a spooky color.

Bloody Eyeballs - Boil cherry tomatoes for 30 seconds. Allow to cool; then peel the skin.

Fake Blood - Mix 2/3cup white corn syrup, 1 tsp red food coloring, 2-3 drops blue food coloring to darken and 1 squirt of dish soap (this help blood to run well)

Brains - Scramble eggs with some green, yellow and blue food coloring.

Infected Eyeballs - Drop some green grapes into a bowl of tapioca pudding.

Easy Halloween Decorating

Turn dimmers on low and replace regular light bulbs with black lights or bulbs that flicker.

Create cobwebs with fiber stuffing (available at crafts and fabric stores). Simply pull it apart, then tape it to doorframes and drape it over furniture.

Scatter plastic spiders, bats and bugs around the room. Use long lengths of thread to dangle some from the doorways.

Make fog by putting a few large chunks of dry ice (see "Ice" or "Dry Ice" in the Yellow Pages) in a large metal washtub. Add warm water to create the fog and use a fan (set on low and place away from the water) to send it creeping around the room.

Creepy Halloween Tree - Make a Halloween tree with black pipe cleaners. Insert several pip cleaner into a florist's block for the base. Then wrap more pipe cleaners around the upright cleaners to create a bent and gnarled trunk. Make branches by attaching and twisting pipe cleaners into different shapes. Wrap small bundles of candy in orange fabric or napkins and tie with orange ribbons to hang from the branches.

Fall Centerpiece - Cover the center of you r table with leaves and place a decorated pumpkin in the center. Or make a family of three different sized pumpkins, each decorated according with black markers. Add curly ribbon hart to top of one and glue bushy yarn eyebrows to another or use sequins, bead, buttons and other odds and ends for your creations.

Group tiny pumpkins together as candleholders. Cut a hole in the top of each, large enough to insert a candle. Line them up on the windowsill. No pumpkin carving is needed.

Weave orange and black ribbons through a loose-reed basket and fill with candy corn. Tie the handle with a large crepe paper bow and set  it in a visible place.

For an elegant centerpiece, begin with a large Styrofoam ball. Cut strips of different shades of orange ribbon long enough to wrap from the top to the bottom of the ball. Attach one end with a pin into the top of the Styrofoam and bring other other end to the opposite side. Attach with another pin. Continue to wrap the ball in this way with alternating shades of color. Cut felt leaves and a stem and attach to the top of the pumpkin with pins. Or use a ribbon that can be curled by firmly drawing it over a scissor to make a clump of green for the top. Curl ribbon over a pencil and attach for the trailing vines. If you can't find a large enough Styrofoam ball, make several small pumpkins.

Really bad Halloween jokes....

Halloween Pizza

• 1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 tbl chopped onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 oz sliced pepperoni
• green olive strips and ripe olive slices for face

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Divide thawed dough in half. Roll and stretch each half into 10-12 inch circle on lightly floured baking sheet. Turn up edges 1/2 inch and pinch or pleat. Brush circles with oil; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Mix tomato sauce, onion, salt, oregano and garlic powder; pour on circles. Top with cheddar cheese. Decorate with overlapping pepperoni slices around the outside of pizza (drawing a circle around pizza), green pepper eyebrows, nose and mouth and sliced olives for the eyes. Bake until crust is brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Makes 2 pizzas.

Orange Whirl

Prepare 1 can (6 oz) frozen orange juice, as directed on can, in blender container. Add 1 medium banana, sliced. Cover and blend on medium speed, 10-15 seconds. Makes 4 servings.

Pumpkin Squares

Crust

• 1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour                                    
• 1/2 cup quick oats, uncooked
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter

Filling

• 1 (16 oz) can pumpkin
• 1 (13 oz) can evaporated milk
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Topping

• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup cutter
• 2 tbl flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease and flour 13x9" baking dish, set aside. In a small bowl combine first 3 ingredients for crust. Cut butter in with pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor fashion until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until crust is light golden brown. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

For filling: Prepare while crust bakes. In medium mixer bowl, place ingredients for filling. Beat at low speed until mixed. Increase speed to medium; beat 3 minutes. Pour into baked crust. Bake 15-20 minutes or until set. Meanwhile, combine ingredients for topping with fork until crumbly. Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle on topping. Return to oven and bake 10-15 minutes more or until topping is deep golden. Cut into 15 pieces.

Marbled Pumpkin Cake

• 1 cup Libby's sold pack pumpkin

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 pkg (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix

• 4 eggs

• 3/4 cup sour cream

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup water

• powdered sugar

Combine pumpkin and cinnamon in medium bowl. Combine cake mix, eggs, sour scream, sugar, oil and water in large mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until moistened. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.

Stir 2 1/2 cups batter into pumpkin mixture. Alternately spoon plain and pumpkins batters into greased 10-cup Bundt pan.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. 

Pumpkin Maple Cream Cheese Muffins

Cream cheese filling

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened

• 2 tbl packed brown sugar                                            

• 1 1/2 tsp maple flavoring

Muffins

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup Libby's solid pack pumpkin

• 2/4 cup evaporated milk

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 2 tsp maple flavoring

• Nut topping (below)

For cream cheese filling: combine cream cheese, sugar and maple flavoring in small bowl until blended.

For Muffins: Combine flour, sugar, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix eggs, pumpkin, evaporated mil, oil and maple flavoring in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture, mixing just until blended.

For Nut Topping: Combine 2 tbl packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup walnuts in mall bowl.

Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Dollop 1 heaping tsp of cream cheese filling into center of each cup, pressing into batter slightly. Sprinkle Nut Topping over muffins. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, serve warm. Make 12 muffins

TIPS FOR YOUR HALLOWEEN PARTY

Use colorful autumn leaves, vine leaves work especially well. to line trays for appetizers and cheeses.

Accent floral arrangements with touches of the season, such as dried leaves and berries. Be sure to keep flowers and centerpieces low enough so that guests can easily see each other.

Hollow out pumpkins and gourds to hold flowers, dips and salads.

For a buffet, roll flatware in large cloth napkins, tie with a decorative cord, and stack in a big basket for easy grabbing.

Don't use scented candles, they'll detract from the flavor of the food.

Be sure to ask invited guests about any dietary restrictions.

Don't ask people to BYOB, unless you still live with college roommates.

Expect the unexpected; have extra food and place setting ready, in case someone brings a surprise guest.

More Holiday Fun!

Christmas  |  Easter  |  July 4th  |  Halloween  |  St Patrick's Day

Thanksgiving  |  Valentine's Day

Senior Track Shopping | Home