It is finally Halloween, my favorite time of the entire year.
Unlike the majority of holidays, there are not any specific recipes that come to mind when talking about Halloween.
Giving your dishes a Halloween feel mostly comes down to plating.
In this edition of Chew on This, I’ll cover spooky appetizers that will wow everyone.
I have got stuffed peppers that look like jack-o’-lanterns, kielbasa in quilts to look like mummies, witch’s brew and Harry Potter inspired butterbeer cupcakes.
In preparation, you will need to buy a few bell peppers.
The green bell peppers are usually the cheapest, but since you want them to look like jack-o’-lanterns, orange peppers make more sense.
You can use a fiesta blend of cheeses instead of cheddar and Monterey Jack if you would prefer. The ingredients for this recipe are $8 or less and it feeds three people.
Next up is kielbasa in quilts, which is basically the Louisiana version of pigs in a blanket. They are always the first things eaten anywhere I bring them.
This recipe is my favorite out of pretty much everything else in my arsenal. It is a pain in the butt to make the first few of them, but, once you get the hang of it, it is really easy. Serve them with Polynesian sauce or sweet and sour sauce.
The witch’s brew is my go-to festive punch because it only requires three ingredients which can be found at the dollar store. This recipe works really well for any social gathering from weddings and baby showers to summer swim parties. If you want to change the flavors a bit, try getting a blue raspberry sherbet—it tastes great. If you want to give it even more of a Halloween feel, add gummy worms.
Last, but not least, hats off to Harry Potter. I could not bear to have a Halloween article without giving a nod to the greatest children’s book series in the world.
I am a huge fan of Harry Potter and am quite proud to say I am the owner of at least five Harry Potter cookbooks. Hit me up if you want the pumpkin pasties or butterbeer milkshake recipe.
This is going to be the most expensive recipe if you do not have the ingredients on hand and it is certainly the most time-consuming. However, I have tried to trim the price down as much as possible.
I love all of these recipes and they are all easy to make in a pinch. Whether you are making these recipes or trick-or-treating, I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween.
Jack-o’-peppers ingredients:
1 cup instant white rice
2 cups salsa, drained
11 ounces whole kernel corn with red and green bell peppers, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 large bell peppers
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Jack-o’-peppers instructions:
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- In a small pot, combine salsa, rice, corn and cheddar cheese.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- Fill bell pepper halves evenly with rice mixture.
- Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.
- Microwave for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Spoon additional salsa over each stuffed pepper.
Kielbasa in quilts ingredients:
8 ounces of refrigerated crescent rolls
A sauce of your choice
1 pound of kielbasa sausage
Kielbasa in quilts instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll the crescent roll into a flat sheet.
- Brush the crescent roll with your sauce of choice.
- Cut thin strips from it.
- Cut sausage into chunks about the size of your pinky.
- Wrap a thin strip of crescent dough around each hunk of sausage.
- Throw the rolls onto an ungreased baking sheet for 15 minutes.
Witch’s brew ingredients:
1 gallon of softened orange sherbet
1 quart of pineapple juice
1 liter of Sprite
Witch’s brew instructions:
- Combine the sherbet and pineapple juice.
- Add Sprite.
Butterbeer Cupcake Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 box (3.4 ounces) of instant butterscotch-flavored pudding mix
1 can (12 ounces) cream soda
Butterbeer Cupcake Directions:
- Mix the cake and pudding mixes in a large bowl.
- Add the can of cream soda and until smooth.
- Scoop batter into cupcake tins.
- Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool at least 4 hours.
Butterbeer Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons butterscotch sundae syrup
2 pounds powdered sugar
6 to 8 tablespoons milk
Butterbeer Buttercream Frosting Directions:
- Mix together butter, shortening and vanilla.
- Add in the butterscotch syrup and blend well.
- Add the powdered sugar about a cup at a time and mix well each time.
- Add the milk, a few tablespoons at a time and mix well.
- Spoon the prepared frosting into a ziplock bag and snip off one corner.
- Squeeze onto each cupcake.
- Take the butterscotch syrup and squirt it onto the cupcake in the shape of a lightning bolt.