What She Cooked: Happy Halloween!

I've been looking forward to today for a few weeks now. When Dee announced that Dan was going to be in Connecticut for the weekend and that she wanted to bring the kids trick-or-treating around my neighborhood, I knew that it would be a great time to get the whole family together. I've been scouring my magazines, emails, and websites for fun fall dishes to give a try. Not so easy...I saw so many things that I wanted to make but they all seemed so random. I wanted a fall themed dinner, that would feed a lot of people (about 10-15), and would also appeal to everyone. Below you will find the recipes that made the final cut. My eyes can hardly stay open as I type this...it's been a long day of cooking. It's a really satisfying feeling making food for the people you love and everyone having a good time together.

Carved by Mackenzie and Annie.

So my mom wanted to help with the cooking so her and my dad worked together to make pulled pork in their crock pot. I requested that they use apple cider to fit with the fall theme of my dinner party. The results were delicious although my dad did not stick to the recipe I sent him, which is fine considering I have never made pulled pork and he has. He'll have to supply the recipe for this one if anyone is interested...although while I need to follow recipes my dad can just throw things in a pot, working with what he has and it usually comes out delicious.

My brother loves guacamole, so for an appetizer, I went with a a Tombstone Taco Dip Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. I made some fresh tortilla chips by cutting Halloween shapes from tortillas. I received a years worth of cookie cutters at my bridal shower earlier this year but was disappointed to find that there weren't many Halloween shapes in the mix. That's why I added a Christmas tree to my guacamole grave yard. I also used scissors to cut my own shapes. Jaxson got a kick out of my star and pumpkin shaped "chippies".

Ingredients

1 16-ounce can refried beans with green chiles
1/4 cup bottled salsa
2/3 cup bottled ranch salad dressing
2 teaspoons taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
1 7-ounce pouch refrigerated guacamole I used fresh avocados that I mashed with a little salt and pepper.
1/2 of a 2 1/4-ounce can chopped pitted ripe olives, drained
shredded lettuce
10-inch tortillas

Directions

In a small bowl, combine refried beans and salsa. Spread refried bean mixture in a 2-quart rectangular dish. In a small bowl, combine ranch salad dressing and taco seasoning; stir in chicken.

Spoon on top of the beans in an even layer. Spoon guacamole in small mounds on top of the chicken mixture. Carefully spread to an even layer.

Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours before serving. Just before serving, place tombstone characters into dip. Sprinkle the graves with chopped olives and shredded lettuce.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Tortilla Graveyard Characters: Using cookie cutters or a knife, cut 10-inch tortillas of any flavor into gravestones, cats, owls, bats, fence rails, and a tree. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until firm and crisp. Cool on rack.

It wouldn't be a complete day without a little baking. Earlier in the week I googled ideas for what to serve with pulled pork and came up with corn bread. I did a little online searching and finally settled on a recipe for Golden Sweet Cornbread from allrecipes.com. This was super yummy. As you can see from the first picture, one of the pans did not cook all the way through. So that was an interesting surprise when I turned the pan over. I just cut around this gooey mess and the results were delicious. Never make boxed cornbread from a mix again....Mom!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Going along with the fall theme, I also chose a pasta dish that had butternut squash in it. I found a recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta. For all my vegetarian friends, I think this would also be great minus the bacon. My family consists of a lot of "manly" men who probably would have never given this dish a chance without the bacon.

Ingredients

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
Cooking spray
6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
8 ounces uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.

Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Annie and my mom both made very pretty Halloween cupcakes that I forgot to snap a picture of. With all of the cooking I was doing, there was a lot of time management things I needed to think about but I love making dessert. So I went to one of my slow cooker cookbooks, Crock Pot: Classic Recipes, and found a recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding. I have never had bread pudding before and it really didn't sound appealing to me but it went with my theme and I could just throw it in the pot for a few hours and hope that it would magically transform into something great. It was interesting and everyone seemed to like it. Dan said it tasted good but felt like it had been regurgitated.

Ingredients

Bread Pudding

2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
3 eggs
1 cup pureed pumpkin
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
16 slices cinnamon raisin bread torn into small pieces (8 cups total)

Sauce

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp bourbon (optional) Yeah...I didn't use this

1. Lightly coat crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
2. To make pudding, place milk and butter in microwavable bowl. Heat on high for 2.5-3 minutes or until very hot.
3. Combine eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl. Whisk until well blended. Add hot milk; stir until well blended. Add bread cubes; toss gently to coat completely.
4. Place mixture in crock pot and cover. Cook on high for 2 hours or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Turn off heat. Uncover and let stand for 15 minutes.
5. To make sauce, stir butter, sugar, and cream in saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat. Stir in bourbon if desired. Spoon bread pudding into individual bowls and top with sauce.

Moose and Otis in their Halloween costumes. Moose is the bat and Otis is the pumpkin. Needless to say, the hats didn't stay on long! The pups did come along trick-or-treating.