Today I'll talk about the food and tomorrow I'll detail some of the crafts and other aspects.
The Menu
Brown Sugar Chili
Wintertime Vegetable Chili
Fixins (sour cream, cilantro, chives, cheese)
"Mummy" dogs
Peanut Butter on Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Peanut Butter on Pumpkin Swirl Bread
Jack-o-Lantern Veggie tray with dip
Pretzels
Spooky Clementines
Applesauce Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Funfetti Birthday Cake
Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
Coffee ~ Soda ~ Water ~ Apple Juice
My goal was to make food that was easy to prep somewhat in advance, crock-pot friendly, and something toddlers would like. The chili was more for the adults, but the kids annihilated the sandwiches and mummy dogs.
Brown Sugar Chili
(from Fix it and Forget it Lightly)
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 medium onion
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. mustard (bottled or prepared, not dry)
2 cans kidney beans (15 oz.)
1 pint low-sodium tomato juice or V-8
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1. Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and mustard.
2. Combine all ingredients in a 3-4 quart slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on high 2-3 hours
Wintertime Vegetable Chili
(from Fix it and Forget it Lightly)
1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I roasted the squash first at 350 for 45 minutes... I HATE cutting squash!)
2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium-sized onion, diced
1-4 Tbsp. chili powder, depending upon personal taste
2 14-oz cans diced low-sodium tomatoes
4-oz can chopped mild green chilies
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup fat-free, low-sodium vegetable broth
2 16-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1. In a slow-cooker, layer all ingredients in order given—except sour cream.
2. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours, or until vegetables are tender.
3. Stir before serving.
4. Top individual servings with dollops of sour cream
Folks went back for seconds and thirds of chili and I had maybe 2 cups left of the veg chili and 1 cup left of the brown sugar chili at the end of the night.
The sandwiches were easy, I bought the bread at Publix on sale and cut the crusts off.
The mummy dogs, Jack-o-lantern veggie tray, and spooky clementines were all Pinterest inspired.
Impossible Pumpkin Pie cupcakes were also found on pinterest and they were my favorites.
Applesauce Cupcakes were from Martha Stewarts' Cupcake book (but I used store bought cream cheese frosting).
The birthday cake was from just a simple Halloween funfetti box cake (hey, it was on sale for less than $1)!
