Crunchy Roach Surprise

Serving Size: 8
½ cup cream cheese
¼ cup walnuts -- toasted, finely chopped
24 pitted dates

Cream together cream cheese and walnuts. Place cream cheese mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a plain coupler.

Gently squeeze filling into dates; you may have to split the dates slightly.

These are a delicious, nutritious appetizer anytime, but for Halloween, they make an especially fun display. Just serve them on a platter that has been decorated with several plastic roaches. Gross, but fun!

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 143 Calories; 7g Fat (43.3% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 16mg Cholesterol; 44mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat.

NOTES: To toast walnuts; preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment and bake walnuts for 5-7 minutes until turning golden and smelling toasty.

For a fun and unique way to serve fresh veggies, decorate a large platter (at least 1” deep) with plastic snakes, insects, eyeballs etc, fill with water and freeze. When ready for your party, top with your fresh veggies and place on the table. It keeps you veggies cool and crisp while providing a scary decoration!

Deviled Goblin Eggs
Serving Size: 16
8 hard-boiled eggs still in shell
1/3 cup Miracle Whip® -- up to 1/2 cup if needed
1 teaspoon brown mustard
2 tablespoons relish
Dash Tabasco sauce
Pinch dried dill weed
Salt and pepper -- to taste

Cool eggs after boiling and tap them on your counter to crack shell but do not remove the shell.

Make a mixture of 6 cups hot water, 2 T. vinegar, and 1 (0.3 oz) bottle yellow food coloring,
½ (0.3 oz) bottle blue food coloring and ½ (0.3 oz) bottle green food coloring. Tap the egg shells on a counter to create cracks all the way around each egg. Add the eggs and let stand 1 hour. Remove and drain on paper towels. Peel eggs to reveal pattern on whites.

Cut eggs in half lengthwise and drop yolks into a bowl.

Mash yolks with a fork and add mayo, small amounts at a time alternating with mustard and relish, until you get your desired consistency. Add Tabasco, dill, salt and pepper.

Arrange egg white halves on a serving tray. Fill pastry bag with egg yolk mixture and pipe decoratively into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika to garnish.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 65 Calories; 5g Fat (70.1% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 108mg Cholesterol; 82mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Monster Eyes

Serving Size: 12
1 ½ pound ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste
48 pimento stuffed olives
8 ounces chili sauce
1 cup water
6 ounces grape jelly
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine beef, pork, egg, salt and pepper. Form into 1” meatballs. You’ll yield about 48. Stuff 1 olive into each meatball so that the pimento end protrudes to look like an eye. Place meatballs on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

In a large saucepan combine chili sauce, water, grape jelly and lemon juice. Simmer until jelly melts. Add meatballs and simmer 30 minutes until heated through and flavors meld. At this point, you can transfer to a crock pot and keep warm for your party.

Nutter Butter Ghosts

2 12 oz. packages white chocolate candy coating
1 1 pound package Nutter Butter cookies
Black Gel Icing

Bring ½” water to a boil in the lower half of a double boiler. Place chocolate chips in the top half and place over the water. Turn off and let stand for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and it will melt completely without overheating.

Dip Nutter Butters into chocolate and coat completely. Set on a parchment lined tray to solidify.
When chocolate is firm, pipe eyes and nose with icing.

Vampire Kiss Martini

Serving Size: 1
1 ounce vodka
2 ounces Champagne -- Brut
1 ounce raspberry liqueur

Chill everything.
Pour vodka and champagne into a chilled martini glass that has been rimmed with black sugar. Pour raspberry liqueur over the back of a spoon into the glass so that the liqueur floats. Garnish with wax vampire teeth or a black licorice swizzle stick.

All of the recipes shown above can be viewed on my cooking shows on...

Time Warner Cable
Channel #411
select the "Restaurants & Food" category and then select
"Cooking with Class"

The shows are fee and on-demand so you can watch them anytime day or night!

Thanks Staci!

Wish I had the recipe, but my mother used to make home-made popcorn balls, wrapped in cellophane for distribution.

The issue with serving treats of this type to trick-or-treaters is that the same children kept coming back! Or so it was for us. Smart kids! ; )