Month: October 2013

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Splish Splash; 8 Days Until Halloween!

This is one of the most popular activities for a Halloween carnival or party; set up a fishing booth and let the fun begin! 

You can use candy for the “fish” but small toys are more fun.
My favorite “bling”  for little girls are the Wilton wedding ring favors – buy a dozen decently built rings for just a few dollars at your craft or fabric store and they often have coupons. Also, little bags of Halloween toys from Target, or see if anyone has a stash of kid-meal toys to share.
Here’s a coloring page to keep your little fishermen busy
 while you prepare the fishing booth.  Growing up on the beach in Southern California, as much as I loved the beach, I was sure I had a little mermaid in me (I really like pearls.) Maybe I’ll do an Under the Sea Halloween party some day.
 
A Harvest and Halloween Handbook 
has more fun and games for you!
Download yours today
No need to fear – help is on the way! 
A Halloween broadcast just for you on 
BYU Sirius Radio 143
 October 31st at 3 p.m. Eastern 

JOIN US FOR MORE HOLIDAY FUN! 
Sign up as a follower below for recipes, games and great ideas all year. Scroll down to the bottom and click the blue “join this site” button then follow the directions. WELCOME.

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Baked Cheese Fondue



Last weekend I had the pleasure of having dinner with the head chef from the Pebble Beach Golf Resort in Monterey County, California. He served an appetizer of Moroccan olive bread (one of my favorites) with a warm cheese dip. It reminded me of the delicious fondue baked in a loaf of pumpkin-shaped French bread or a bakery-made loaf of sourdough that is a Halloween favorite at our house. It’s easy to assemble and fun to eat, the recipe is available in A Harvest and Halloween Handbook. 

Thank you Ben for a truly memorable meal with best wishes for your culinary exhibition this weekend at Disney World. 

 For more delicious Halloween and harvest treats, download





It’s almost time for your Halloween story on BYU Sirius Radio 143; October 31st at 3 p.m. Eastern. Join us!

 
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What a Treat!

After a weekend of hugging granddaughters, painting candy corn fingernails, making tutus and decorating Jack-o-lantern Cuties, 
I an convinced that not all treats are made of sugar.

Maybe they are sugar and spice. Love you girls!


I’ll have a treat for you on Halloween: a BYU Sirius Radio 143 broadcast at 3 p.m. Eastern. Please join me. 
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It’s a Mystery


What’s inside the bag? Times 20?
The mystery candy guessing game is fun and easy to make. 
Place a candy bar or piece of candy inside a lunch bag. 
Make a fancy tag like the one above if you choose,
add a clue; this one is “confectionary maize.”

Did you guess candy corn? Make 12 -20 mystery candy bags and hide them around a room for another layer of mystery. Have guests write their guesses on a numbered list. The guest with the most correct gets first pick, then the second, etc. 
For clues and the tags for the mystery candy game and other 
Halloween activities, download your


…but not of BYU Sirius Radio 143 on Halloween at 3 p.m. Eastern.
Please join us for a discussion about the mysteries of Halloween.
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Happy Halloween Little Pumpkin

This little pumpkin is selecting hers for her very first Halloween.

Have you picked your pumpkin yet?

Don’t forget to pick up your 


Please join us for a Halloween broadcast on BYU Sirius Radio 143
October 31st at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Five little pumpkins will be there! 
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Beware of Things That Go Bumper in the Night

This is always good advice, but even more so at Halloween.
That being said, a good scavenger hunt makes a Halloween party exciting. Several of the ways to conduct a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt include: 

1. Have the players take photos of things on the their list. 
2. Collect the actual items. 
3. Hide clues around your neighborhood or town and have teams race to find a treasure or complete a challenge.

One word of advice – if you are having a driving race please don’t do it on Halloween when there will be a lot of excited children on the street; not a good time to be in competition driving mode.



To fuel all that fun, you’ll need some personalized pizza or 
Aunt Judy’s Stacks!


Pizza 

    Preheat oven to 400°. Place in a mixing bowl, stir and let react         until foam covers the surface
2 C very warm water, almost hot
2 TBSP dry active yeast
2 TBSP sugar
     Add
1 TBSP salt
2 C all-purpose flour
      Beat until smooth, add and beat again;
2 C flour
       Add and beat until a smooth elastic dough is formed
1 1/2 – 2 C whole wheat flour
       Let the dough rest for a few minutes, then roll it out 1/2″ thick and form into shapes. Spread with 
spaghetti sauce
       decorate with desired toppings
grated Parmesan  cheese
grated mozzarella cheese
sliced pepperoni
olives
bell pepper
ham, pineapple
onions
      Bake 15 minutes for small pizzas , 20 – 25 minutes for large            pizzas or until cheese melts and crust is golden brown.

Aunt Judy’s Stacks
Prepare your favorite taco ingredients and stack on a bed of tortilla chips, or for those watching their weight, stack on a bed of shredded lettuce. You can make theme tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into holiday shapes with a cookie cutter. Fry briefly in hot oil. Drain on paper towels and salt lightly.
Brown  
1 ¼ lbs. lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
Drain. Stir  in one
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
¾ tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste.
Cook over low heat until sauce thickens. In serving bowls, place
2 cans vegetarian-style refried beans, warmed.
3 chopped tomatoes
1 head shredded lettuce
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 can sliced olives, drained
1 ½ cups light sour cream
1 bag low fat tortilla chips
To assemble stacks: On each plate make a stack of tortilla chips, top with refried beans, meat, and other desired toppings. Makes 6 generous servings
Salsa
   Chop
8 Roma tomatoes
 2 – 3 jalapenos
a bunch green onion tops
half a bunch of chopped cilantro leaves

Add salt, ½ tsp. ground chili powder and ½ tsp. ground cumin to taste.


For more fun and games and recipes, see


Don’t be afraid to tune into BYU Sirius Radio 143 on Halloween for a special show at 3 p.m. Eastern.
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Halloween Fun and Games: Penny Toss

This DYI Halloween game is easy to create by collecting 
containers and pennies to toss in them. You can use buckets and bowls you already own and it won’t cost anything. I like to tape down a piece of Halloween fabric to the floor to delineate that game area and add color. 
Make a masking tape line for the children to stand behind as they toss pennies. You might fill the containers half full with treats and let the players keep one treat from every goal they make.
For more fun and games download your
You’ll have even more fun (if that’s possible) when you tune in to BYU Sirius Radio 143 on Halloween at 3 p.m. Eastern.
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I’m a Deseret News Foodie!

Thank you Deseret News for publishing my article featuring party planning tips and pumpkin pie cake recipe in today’s edition; the food section C, page 3.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865588449/Tips-tricks-for-celebrating-Halloween.html

For more exciting recipes and Halloween tips, download your 
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Pumpkin Caramel Sauce!


Pumpkin Caramel Sauce 

This delicious sauce is wonderful over ice cream and granola or apple crisp or for dipping apple or pear slices. 

     Preheat oven to 350°. In a 9” x 9” pan, place

¾ C pecans, coarsely chopped

    Bake for 8 minutes. Cool. 
  
    Drain in a paper towel-lined colander 

¾ C cooked pumpkin

    In a heavy saucepan over medium high heat, melt

½ C butter

    Add

2/3 C evaporated milk

the drained canned pumpkin

3 C sugar

2 T maple-flavor syrup

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

    Bring to a rolling boil and cook over medium-high heat stirring 
    constantly to 234° or soft ball stage (about 15 minutes).  
    Remove from heat and add, stirring until melted

12 oz. white chocolate chips

    Add and stir until melted

10 oz. mini marshmallows

1 tsp vanilla

Serve warm over ice cream and granola or apple crisp or dip apple slices. Refrigerate unused portion. 

Find more delicious recipes when you download your copy today!





Here’s another treat… a Halloween broadcast for you on BYU Sirius Radio 143; October 31st at 1 p.m. Mountain.
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Favorite Popcorn Balls

 My nieces Amanda Panda and Ems inspired today’s post when they requested this recipe. These buttery popcorn balls are dressed like little pumpkins so they fit it this week’s theme. For all you old-school popcorn ball fans these are the classic. The recipe is courtesy of Jolley Time Popcorn, and be sure to share. So enjoy; I’ve never eaten a better one.

Popcorn Balls

This has been a family favorite for decades. Wrap in yellow cellophane, tie with raffia and decorate with faces made of black tape.

Pop 

1 C Jolly Time Popcorn 

       Remove  unpopped kernels. Transfer popped corn to a large      
       greased baking pan or mixing bowl and set aside. Combine in 
       large heavy saucepan

2 C sugar
2/3 C light corn syrup

2/3 C water

1/2 C butter 
1 tsp salt

Cook stirring constantly to soft – firm ball stage 240- 245 degrees, you can test the syrup by dropping a small 
amount in cold water, it should be barely soft and slightly firm. Remove from heat and add 

2 tsp vanilla extract

Food coloring, if desired

With buttered hands, form warm mixture into balls, place on waxed paper to cool. Wrap in cellophane or plastic wrap. Keeps up to 2 weeks. Makes 15 generous popcorn balls. You might want to make simple tie on tags made with rubber-stamped cardstock . *Jolly Time sells popcorn ball molds for those of us who don’t like butter between our fingers and hot sticky hands!

For more delicious recipes, download 


  http://www.amazon.com/Harvest-Halloween-Handbook-Artisan-ebook/dp/B009PA8ON6/?keywords=pam+mcmurtry&qid=1374845872&ref=sr_1_1&ie=UTF8&sr=8-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-harvest-and-halloween-handbook-pam-mcmurtry/1116031757?ean=2940148379744


Don’t forget! A Halloween show for you on BYU Sirius Radio 143; October 31st at 1 p.m. Mountain.
Halloween art courtesy of Laurel ChaddockPhillips
Some of you dear readers have sent comments, but I, with my untechie ways, have not been able to access them yet. I apologize and will find your great responses soon, I promise!