Halloween Festivities

This weekend, we celebrated Halloween with the kids. They're all getting to the age where trick or treating is a memory of their past, or they'd rather be hanging out with friends. So we decided to squeeze in our holiday traditions a week early.

First, we visited a local pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect gourd. This is a very important step in the carving process because the shape, size and color of the pumpkin has to speak to the carver and give specific inspiration.

We took our orange heathens home and got started. My husband's favorite part of pumpkin carving is pumpkin seeds. Luckily with this many pumpkins, we get quite a few and usually have enough to share. He's received several compliments on his "secret recipe" - one person even said they were the BEST seeds they had ever had!

 

While everyone worked on bringing their pumpkins to life, I started working on the popcorn balls. This caramel recipe was given to me by my mom and I've never even tried another version. It's that good! I like the caramel to stay a bit gooey and sticky instead of hardening on the popcorn, so if you're a crunchy caramel kind of person, this might not be the recipe for you.

I added in a few festive bits of candy to add to the pizzaz, then inserted the wooden sticks before they were completely cool making them easier to eat later. Other ideas I considered:

• Drizzle chocolate over the tops
• Add food coloring to match a theme
• Throw in some nuts
• Add chocolate chips
• Try sunflower seeds for a fiber kick
• Tie a ribbon/bow around the stick for presentation points
• Wrap with cellophane and give as gifts or bring to a potluck
• Make a popcorn ball bar and have various bowls of yumminess for guests to choose from (first dip in chocolate, then add desired toppings)

Now that the balls were cooling down, it was time to get started on one of my favorite parts of fall: Caramel apples! When it comes to the apples, I tend to keep it simple. I like the caramel bits rather than the caramel candies because there is absolutely no unwrapping involved and usually the bags include popsicle sticks so you don't have to buy them separately. The instructions are also found on the back of the bag, so you can vary it if you'd like or just follow their simple steps.

Everyone has their favorite toppings for apples at our house, so once the dipping was done, everyone got a chance to add their fav's. I'm pretty boring and prefer the classic plain caramel. By the way, a trick I learned to help keep the apples from sticking to anything while they're cooling: Spray wax paper or a foil-lined cookie sheet with cooking spray. Stick them in the fridge or freezer for faster set up. If you're finding it hard to eat on the stick (or serving to younger children who will find it difficult to bite through to the apple), use a knife to cut the apple into bite size pieces and serve on a plate. We cut them before dipping them so they could be served in wedges and dipped individually.

Now that we were waiting on the caramel to set, it was finally dinner time. This is another recipe handed down to me by my mom. It has been a classic in our family for as long as I can remember, and the only thing I change is adding more clams - I love clams! I like to throw all the ingredients into a slow cooker/Crock Pot and let it simmer for a few hours. The fall season is what we call "soup season" at our house. The warm summer months have been replaced with cooler days and the breath of winter is just around the corner.

Nothing marries up with a good chowder quite like bread bowls. I admit, I took yet another short cut on this one and purchased the bowls ready-made at the store, but they do just fine and are beyond convenient for our large family.

Now that our bellies were full and the pumpkins were lit, it was time to settle down for our traditional Halloween movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas. My sister-in-law brought some warm cider to go with the popcorn balls and apples which was the perfect ending to a very festive fall day.

Homemade Caramels Recipe
2 c. Sugar
2 c. Heavy whipping cream
1/2 lb (2 cubes) butter
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
3/4 c. White Karo syrup

Bring all ingredients but 1/2 cream to a boil, then add remaining cream. Boil (simmer) to a soft ball stage. Pour into a wax paper-lined pan and let cool, then cut into squares and wrap individually. Can be stored in the refrigerator, but not required.
Yields approximately 60 caramels.

Clam Chowder Recipe
2 -3 Potatoes
1 c. diced onion
1 c. diced celery
2 cans clams, undrained
1 tsp. salt

Sauce:
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. flour
1 qt. half-n-half (or milk)
1 1/2 tsp salt

Combine all vegetables and clams in large pot and cover with water. Cook until tender.
Sauce: Melt better and add flour. Add milk slowly until well combined. Add salt. Cook until thick. When mixture is thickened, add to vegetables and stir to mix well. Heat through and serve.

Rainbow Jello

A couple of weeks ago, my step daughter celebrated her 10^th birthday. Although we kept pestering her for weeks about what she wanted for her birthday, she never had an answer with the exception of one thing: Rainbow Jello. She’s not a big cake fan, and even less so of frosting. What she really wanted was layers and layers of colored Jello.

I’ve always thought about doing this. I’ve seen others do it. It’s probably one of the simplest things I’ve ever made. But it takes FOREVER. I started preparing the layers on a Friday afternoon; one box at a time. I’d wait a couple hours, then add the next layer. I was able to get three of them done by Friday night.

Saturday morning, I was making Jello again while waiting for my crepes to cook. Crepes are her favorite breakfast item, along with turkey bacon.

Finally, by the afternoon, I’d finished all the layers. I added a layer of whipped topping (of course!) and we served up the first…um…”piece”. Rainbow Jello is pretty difficult to serve. You have to get all the flavors in there or what’s the point? But even though it came out a bit sloppy, it looked just as pretty in the bowl. And it was DELICIOUS. Whoever said they didn’t like Jello was lying. Or at least was thinking more about the fact that it’s made out of fat than the yummy taste it has when mixed with loads of sugar. Mmmmm.

So, when you have some free time or when you feel like making something really special – perhaps for that next potluck? – grab a few boxes of Jello and go to town!

Cake Pops Recipe

Last weekend, I was finally able to announce the genders of my soon-to-be-born twins. I have heard about gender reveal parties before but I’ve never been to one. I’ve heard of many people having the ultrasound tech write down genders for the parents in a sealed envelope, then taking the envelope to a local bakery and having them prepare a cake with the usual associated color inside topped with white frosting. The parent(s)-to-be will then cut the cake at the reveal party to announce the gender of their baby: Pink for girl, blue for boy – and a surprise for everyone.

Originally, I wanted to use this idea and have a two-tier cake prepared, one tier for each of the twins. But, my husband couldn’t stand the thought of having to wait another two weeks before we could find out, so we ended up finding out right at our appointment. I did, however, still want to incorporate the cake idea when we announced to our families what we were having.

Instead of having a cake prepared, I decided to make my first try at cake pops. If you’re not familiar with them, you can find where I discovered them here or just read on for the recipe I used. I had grand ideas of what I wanted to do. I could make them look like children’s blocks and cut out letters from fondant for the decoration. I could find little candies and make them look like baby cheeks sucking on binkies. I could make them look like little baby bottoms complete with crack and belly button and cover them with carefully cut Airhead candies shaped like little white diapers. So many clever ideas…but alas, so little time.

I ended up sticking with a basic design: saucer-shaped cake balls dipped in white chocolate and covered with multi-colored sprinkles. If you decided to do this, I recommend double dipping before using the sprinkles as the color of the cake did show through a bit (I had to go back over some of the more transparent spots later to cover up any traces of blue). Another tip: Freeze the balls before dipping. This will make them much easier to dip and they’ll hold their shape better. You can make these as cake bites instead of pops simply by omitting the stick. If you choose to use the sticks, dip them in chocolate and insert them into the cake ball, then freeze or refrigerate long enough for the chocolate to set. This will ensure the ball doesn’t come off the stick while dipping (another thing I learned the hard way).

Finally, I presented the cake pops on floral Styrofoam blocks I’d covered with colored tissue paper and ribbon (sorry, I didn’t get a pic of this part – I had hungry mouths to feed!). I kept the colors gender-neutral so no one would get any funny ideas. I then explained there were 12 pops colored for baby A and 12 colored for baby B. As they started to bite into them, they started yelling out, “blue!” until finally everyone realized…they were all blue! This saved some time in the kitchen, because I didn’t have to prepare two batches with different colors.

Another final tip: These treats are EXTREMELY sweet and rich, so I would recommend making them bite size so as not to send your guests into a sugar coma. If you’ve got other ideas for how to make the announcement or if you want to share what you did, please post in the comments. Have a great week!

Cake Pops

1 Box white cake mix (other flavors can be used but if you plan to color the cake, you’ll want to use white)

¾ Container cream cheese frosting

2 – 3 Bags chocolate candy, any color (available at most craft stores) or Bakers chocolate

2 – 3 tsp. Crisco shortening

Food coloring (optional)

24 – 30 sucker sticks, if desired

2 rectangular foam blocks

Instructions:

Prepare the cake as directed on the box. You can choose to add your food coloring now or wait until mixing with the frosting later.

Once the cake cools completely, crumble it in a large bowl and add the frosting. Mix thoroughly until you have a dough-like consistency. Refrigerate until the “dough” is hardened; usually about an hour. Tip: To reduce this time, refrigerate your cake before mixing with the frosting.

Use a spoon or cookie/ice cream scoop to get equal portions of dough for shaping. Shape the balls using your hands but be sure not to roll them for too long or the dough will become warm and soft. Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Melt ½ bag of chocolate candies and ½ tsp of Crisco shortening. Dip the sucker sticks into the melted chocolate, coating generously, then insert into the middle of the prepared cake balls. This will ensure the balls stay in place during dipping.

Freeze of refrigerate the balls for 30 minutes to allow ample time for the chocolate to set. About 10 minutes before removing from the fridge/freezer, begin melting the rest of the chocolate and Crisco shortening. Remember to stir constantly and melt on low heat to avoid scorching the candy.

Dip the balls in the chocolate one at a time, stirring the chocolate after each dip. Allow the excess chocolate to run off. You can lightly twirl the pop to help distribute the chocolate evenly, but be gentle. After the chocolate starts to harden, insert the stick into one of the Styrofoam blocks to continue cooling. For a quicker set, place the block in the refrigerator or freezer.

Once the chocolate has hardened, you can choose to give them a second coat. The Crisco gives the chocolate a thinner consistency making them easier to dip, but can also leave the first layer looking thin.

Decorate as desired and enjoy!

New York Style Cheesecake Recipe

You know what I hate about ordering cheesecake at a restaurant? They give you a tiny sliver of the stuff and then charge you about 8 bucks for it. I've made some cheesecakes in my day. Some turned out better than others. But I've also picked up a few tips along the way that have made cheesecake making a more enjoyable experience.

1. Cheesecake is a custard at heart. It's delicate, so you want to bake it slowly and evenly without browning the top.

The most effective way to do this is to bake it in a water bath. Since water evaporates at the boiling point, the water bath will never get hotter than 212 degrees F (100 degrees C), no matter what the oven temperature. This means that the outer edge of your cheesecake won't bake faster than the center, which can cause it to soufflé, sink, and crack.

2. It's common to overbake cheesecakes because, while they might look underdone, they are actually done when the center is still wobbly [this was a hard lesson for me to learn - and it took me more than once to learn it]. At this stage, residual heat will "carry over" and the center will continue to cook.

Remove cheesecake from the oven to cool on a rack, or simply leave the door of the oven closed, turn off the heat and let the cheesecake cool for at least an hour. This helps prevent the cheesecake from sinking in the center.

After chilling, the once-wiggly center should firm up just fine

3. The cream cheese should be at room temperature before you begin mixing, or you'll end up with lumps in your cheesecake. Using cold cream cheese also leads to overbeating--whipping too much air into the batter--which forms unattractive air bubbles on the surface of the cake.

Unless the recipe instructions specifically note otherwise, you should beat the cream cheese by itself until it's smooth and light, before adding any other ingredients.

If you end up with lumps in your batter, run the mixture through a sieve or give it a quick spin in the food processor and you'll have silky smooth results.

4. Whether you're making an Italian-style cheesecake with ricotta cheese or a classic New York cheesecake with cream cheese, don't skimp on the fat content. Reduced fat and nonfat cream cheeses contain fillers that might prevent the cheesecake from setting properly. Never substitute whipped cream cheese for the solid block

Here is a picture of the one I made for Father's Day last weekend:

Is that some sort of kooky strawberry flower?
Ah, it's better: Strawberry cheesecake.

And of course, here is the recipe. Enjoy!

New York Style Cheesecake
Recipe and Tips Contributed by AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 15 graham crackers, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

2.     In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.

3.     In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.

4.     Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator

Chia Snowballs Recipe

These remind of of a dessert we would eat with school lunch in elementary school. We called them peanut butter krispies. This recipe is a healthier version is great for after school snacks or a light dessert. Another pro: Fun and easy for kids to make.

Chia Snowballs
Contributed by http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/ via Cindy Chandler

Ingredients

1 Cup peanut butter (or you could use almond butter)

1/2 Cup honey

1/4 Cup brown rice syrup (you can get this at health food stores)
2 1/2 Cup brown rice cereal (you can also use Rice Crispies, but the brown rice is better nutritionally. Also available at health food stores)
1/2 Cup oats
1 - 2 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Cup finely shredded coconut

Directions
Mix all but the coconut. Roll into balls, then roll in the coconut.

These can be eaten immediately or chilled in the refrigerator.

Sinfully Rich Chocolate Truffles Recipe

Sinfully Rich Chocolate Truffles
Contributed by Cindy Chandler

¼ C Heavy Whipping Cream

8 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips

6 T Unsalted Butter

1/3 C Unsweetened Cocoa

Directions

Bring cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate and butter.  Place in a double boiler and stir until the chocolate is melted. Pour into a shallow bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Take small amounts and roll into balls and roll into either powdered sugar or cocoa powder. These are very rich and decadent!