Graveyard Dirt Halloween Dessert

These 'Graveyard Dirt Cups' were the perfect finish to last year's Spooky Dinner!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Oreos

8oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. butter

1 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 c. milk

2-3.4oz. pkg. chocolate instand pudding mix

1 carton whipped cream, thawed

Gummi worms for garnish

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes (mixture will be thick). Fold in whipped topping. Gently fold into cream cheese mixture until blended. Scoop into individual cups.

Using a food processor, crush the bag of Oreos until they resemble dirt.  Place 2-3 gummi worms in each cup and top with crushed Oreos.

'Head of Zombie' Halloween Meatloaves

These 'Baby Zombie Head' meat loafs were the entree at our Spooky Dinner last year.  It's my basic meatloaf recipe, so they're tasty!

Meatloaf:

1lb. ground beef

1 egg, beaten

1/2c. oatmeal

1/4c. chopped onion

1/4c. ketchup

1 T steak sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Sauce:

1/2 c. ketchup

3 Tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp mustard

Mix the meatloaf ingredients and pack into the pan. If you don't have a pan, try shaping into a head-shape and place on a cookie sheet to bake.

This cake pan was perfect for shaping the heads:

Bake for 30 min @ 350 degrees.  Flip onto a cookie sheet.

Cover each meatloaf with sauce. Use olives, onions, red peppers, banana peppers, or what ever you have to decorate the faces.

Return to oven and continue baking for 20-30 min. until sauce has caramelized.

Vampire Kiss Halloween Cocktail

I served this Vampire Kiss Halloween Cocktail from Sandra Lee at my Spooky Dinner last year which was delicious!

Ingredients:
1 part vodka, chilled
1 part Champagne
1 part Chambord
Garnish with wax teeth/candy corn/blood orange slice

Directions:
Pour vodka in a martini glass, top with Champagne and pour a little of the Chambord over the back of a spoon to make it float.

I poured some grenadine onto a plate to rim the glasses to look like blood.

 

I froze plastic spiders in ice cubes for a little extra something spooky since I couldn't find wax teeth.

Bloody Brains Halloween Jell-O

Last year we served 'Human brains' at our Spooky Dinner, which were actually pretty good!

Ingredients:

1 3.4oz. box Raspberry Jell-O

1 tub Cool Whip, thawed

Grenadine for Garnish

Make Jello as directed and let set-up in fridge for 1 hour. Fold in cool-whip, and transfer to brain mold (I found mine at a pop-up Halloween store).  Let set at least 8 hours or overnight.

To remove Jell-O from the mold, place the mold in a pan of hot tap water without submerging to loosen the edges. Place a plate upside down on the mold, then flip upright to remove Jell-O onto the plate.

Drizzle Grenadine over the top just before serving to look like blood.

DIY Skull Halloween Place Card Holders

For our Spooky Dinner last year, I wanted to have themed place card holders without spending a lot of money.  I was able to make my own set for only $1!!

I started with a bag of 12 plastic skulls that was only $1.

Using a sharp knife and a cutting board, I cut a slit through each of the hollow skulls to hold the place card.

 

I printed everyone's name on a piece of white card stock. The font I used is called 'Cracked'.  

The slit I cut holds each name card perfectly!

These would also look great spray painted silver or gold for a 'glam' halloween!

Stocking-Up on Stocking Stuffers

It's always fun to give and get stocking stuffers as a little 'something extra' at Christmas time, however if you're not careful they can end-up costing you more than an actual gift!  A lot of retailers send me coupons for free things that make excellent stocking stuffers.  (I'm not sure how I got on these lists, but I'm sure if you snoop around their web-sites you can easily sign-up). Start stocking-up now so you can collect enough goodies for all of your friends and family.  

Here are some great deals that I use for Stocking Stuffers:

$10 off Anything Over $10 Coupons

Find something for $10 and it's free! I get these offers from the following retailers:

 JC Penney-You can easily fiend a piece of clothing here for close to $10. Sometimes it's nice just to get a fresh white tank, something everyone loves but never buys themselves! They also have great deals on jewelry, scarves, hats, mittens, etc.

DSW-Smartwool socks, leg warmers, cute boot socks, or a piece of jewelry

Kohls-Great deals on scarves and jewelry, but you can also find a ton of great kitchen items or wine glasses for under $10. Who doesn't love new dishtowels?!?

Free Stuff

Victoria's Secret-I am always getting coupons for free undies, and the one size fits most lacie's are a great gift option since size doesn't matter!

Bath & Body Works-Free travel size lotion or body wash.  Stock-up early and you can get one of each in the same scent to create a little bundle.

Godiva-Free truffle every month (which you should just eat). However, they give you $10 off the month of your birthday, so if your birthday is close to December Godiva chocolate bars would be appreciated by anyone!

DIY Crafts

It's easy to make multiples of a single craft project to give to everyone on your list.  Some great homemade gifts include wine cork ornaments, tile coasters, wine bottle candles, or Reinbeers!

Hint: Stocking stuffers don't have to be Christmas themed, but if you must, get something basic that will be useful after the holidays and tie it up with a holiday themed ribbon!

Hosting an Informal Beer Tasting

My husband received a variety of different craft beers as gifts at his 30th Birthday Party, so I thought it would be fun to drink one of each at a beer tasting!  Our parents were visiting for a night before attending the MN state fair, so I thought this was the perfect occasion to try all of the beers.   I usually go all out making my events themed and matchy/matchy, but this beer tasting was very informal using the beers we had on-hand and things I had around the house.  The only thing I bought special was the food, and it still turned out really fun! 

Here's what you need to throw together a fun, laid back beer tasting:

-Beer:  We sampled 14 beers between 5 of us, which was a good amount.  Everyone had a good taste of each beer, without being forced to drink too much if it wasn't their favorite. The amount of beer overall seemed right too for a weeknight social. Our beers were determined by what my hubby got as gifts, but fun themes might be Octoberfest, lagers, mexican beers, imports, nostalgic  beers (Grain Belt, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Hamms), etc.

-Beer List: I visited the websites of all the beers we tasted and copied their pictures and descriptions into a word document.  I sorted them in the order we were tasting them and printed for each of our guests.

-Fun Bar Food: We has a variety of snacks both store bought and homemade including cheese straws, smoked salmon, candied bacon, buffalo chicken pinwheels, and sausage/cheese/pretzel bun skewers.  The food was fun and fancy but still easy to execute and went well with beer.  I tried to plan the menu so we could try some new foods along with the new beers.

-Great Atmosphere: We hosted our beer tasting on our deck, complete with patio lights, wood table, and  colorful outdoor pillows. The temperature was perfect and croaking frogs took the place of a playlist. The space was comfortable and festive for drinking beer,eating snacks, and talking for a couple of hours.

-Real Dishes & Glasses: Rarely do I use paper cups/plates when entertaining, as it looks and feels much better to use real, plus I think it's easier to load the dishwasher than take out the trash.  Small white square plates are perfect for appetizers at any party, or for everyday use. We poured beer in our juice glassed which were the perfect size for a beer tasting.  

-Fun Napkins: Since I didn't go all-out with a theme, I at least wanted the cocktail napkins to be fun.  I buy fun napkins whenever I see them and pull them out for various occasions.  These 'DRINK' napkins were perfect for our beer tasting. A mariposa napkin holder is a must-have for easy entertaining.

-Insulated Beverage Tub: We used this to keep all of the beers cold and within reach on our deck.  I have two and use them both pretty much whenever we have company.  Be sure to get one thats insulated to avoid water drips from condensation. It will also allow you to set out drinks and ice before guests arrive, making entertaining easier.

Blue Cheese Squash Hash

This squash hash is my favorite fall dish.  The recipe can be found here and is from my favorite restaurant, 112 Eatery (if you haven't been, it's  'I eat there on my birthday every year' good). I think I make this dish even better by adding bacon, that usually makes anything better.  The blue cheese makes it great with a glass of red wine.  I made it once already this year with squash in my CSA, and will definitely be making it again!

Thrifting Haul

I love it when my friend Halle from craft club posts pictures of her goodwill and garage sale finds, so I thought I'd do the same! Here's what I picked-up while running errands yesterday.

$3-A small glass jar to hold matches next to a candle on my coffee table tray.  I was so excited I filled it with matches as soon as I got home.  I plan to etch the bottom of the bottle for striking the matches, but if I don't get to it I might just cut the striking tip form the matchbox and tape it to the bottom. I found it at Hunt and Gather in Minneapolis.

$3-A snowmobile trophy top.  This thing is solid metal.  Since there's a screw on the bottom where it attached to a trophy, I though it might be cool to attach to a cork and use as a bottle stopper for one of my husband's scotch bottles. We'll see if it works. Also from Hunt and Gather.

$15-Solid wood antique dresser.  I've been looking for a piece with a lot of character for our entryway for years, and at this garage sale the price was right (I think I could have gotten it for $10 but I have a personal rule not to negotiate on anything I've been searching more than a year for!) It's dark cherry, not black as the photo conveys.  The hardware is original so I figured that was at least worth $15.  Not sure if I'll paint it, strip and stain, or chop up for firewood (it kind of smells musky, and the drawers stick, and my husband hasn't seen it yet, so its fate is unknown.......)

$1-Boomerang. How can you see a boomerang at a garage sale and not buy it?!?! They guy selling assured me it worked. I'll have to wait to test it out at my parent's farm. I'm upset with myself because they also had a bucket of metal baseball bats with a handwritten sign that said, "Protect your house!" that I thought was really funny. I planned on snapping a photo of it until the boomerang distracted me.

Retirement Wine Cork Ornaments

This year both my mom and my friend Kathee from Craft Club retired.  For something special, I made them both cork ornaments  using corks from the wine served at their retirement parties.   

Above are ornaments I made for Kathee symbolizing things that she would do in retirement, and below is a Christmas tree I made with the remaining corks. 

With some eyelet screws, beads, ribbon, and glue the possibilities of cork ornaments you could make is endless. This is an easy way to make a little reminder of any special occasion, just remember to save the cork!