The Perfect Halloween Meal

The costumes are picked out, the pumpkin is carved, the candy is ready to be handed out to princesses, ghosts and dinosaurs … and Monday night is right around the corner! Now, all that is needed is a delicious feast for you and your family on Halloween night before the festivities start! 

Skip the ordering of pizzas this year and feed your family some festive and wholesome foods that will keep them satisfied all night long. Your family will LOVE you for this and maybe even share some candy with you this year! All the recipes are relatively quick and easy ... one even uses a crockpot … and you can’t get easier than that! 

I’ve found that it’s sometimes best to cook the day before if you know your day is going to be crazy. Sunday is the day before Halloween this year and what better day to prepare a meal ahead of time!  I do this every week as my husband can help out with the kids on weekends.

Remember…cooking should be enjoyable - something you look forward to. If it’s not, try to make it a happy time. Involve your children or family in the process if you feel as though cooking takes time away from the family. For me, cooking is a way I show love to my family. I relish in the fact that I’ve made a meal they will love. Plus the meals are healthy and nutritious, much better than feeding them take-out foods or frozen meals. Today, not many families make time to sit down for a nice meal together … and it really is so important to do. There is no better way to connect with one another and enjoy conversation (even if it’s with a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old!).

If you are one of the ones who loves cooking for your family and sitting down to meals together … good for you! Keep it up as it is known to be one of the most important ways for a family to stay close and connected to one another.

If you are not one of the ones who likes to cook and tends to avoid family dinners … give it a try this week. I guarantee your family will love you for it. It will make you feel so good as well … that I can promise you. So give the meals below a try. I think these are the BEST recipes for CHILI, BEEF STEW and APPLE PIE! And be sure to have a safe and spooktacular Halloween night! Be sure to check back next week for more delicious family recipes!

For the Kids:

Mummy Pizza

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 french bread

-4 slices of mozzarella cheese (from deli counter)

-1 cup of red sauce/marinara (either homemade or jarred…we’ve found ‘Nature’s Promise Organic’ jarred sauce from Stop and Shop to be a good alternative to homemade sauce for things like pizza)

-1 small can sliced olives

Directions:

1) Cut French bread in half.

2) Now cut the bread halves lengthwise so you get 4 pieces.

3) Put pieces of bread on cookie sheet and broil in the oven until lightly toasted on the top rack … about 1-2 minutes.

4) Take a spoon and spoon sauce over each of the 4 pieces of bread.

5) Cut each cheese slice into 5 strips.

6) Take the strips and put them over the sauce to make ‘mummy’ like wrap.

7) Add 2 slices of olives for eyes.

8) Bake in oven under the broiler for a few more minutes on the top rack or until cheese is starting to melt.

9) Eat and enjoy your mummy pizza!

For the Family

Super Easy and O So Good Crockpot Chili

Makes about 6-8 bowls

Tips:

*rinsing the beans reduces the sodium by a lot!

*If you don’t like the chili to have a little kick to it..reduce spice amount (this chili is moderately spicy…not too hot at all.)

*If you want it spicy…add 1 tsp red pepper flakes when putting seasoning in.

*We like to buy a bag of shredded cheese and top the chili with cheese!

*We also get a bag of organic tortilla chips in case we want to eat them with our chili…yum!

Ingredients

-1 TBS vegetable oil

-1 lb. ground turkey (we use Nature’s Promise Stop and Shop brand)

-2 (10.75 oz) cans tomato soup (campbell’s)

-2 (15 oz) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

-1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

-1 yellow onion, chopped

-2 TBS chili powder

-1/2 TBS garlic powder

-1/2 TBS cumin

-1 pinch black pepper and salt

-1 pinch allspice

-Cooking spray such as PAM

Directions

1) Heat the oil in skillet over medium heat.  Brown turkey and drain fat.  Reserve turkey in skillet.

2) Coat the inside of a crockpot with cooking spray. Put ALL of the above ingredients including the cooked turkey into crockpot.  Mix well.

3) Cover and cook on low 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

4) Stir…scoop into bowls and top with shredded cheese and serve with tortilla chips!

Aunt D's Beef Stew

Makes about 6-8 bowls

Ingredients

-1 ½ boneless beef stew meat (should be cut into small bite size pieces)

-2 TBS vegetable oil

-2 cups water

-2 cups beef broth

-1 yellow onion, chopped

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-2 TBS worcestershire sauce

-1 TBS lemon juice (I use fresh)

-1 tsp sugar

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp paprika

-1 bay leaf

-6 carrots, peeled and sliced into ½ inch chunks

-4 potatoes, peeled and cut into about 1 inch chunks

-1/2 cold water

-1/4 cup all purpose flour

-Salt and pepper to season

Directions

1)  In a large pot cook all the meat at once in hot oil over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes or until brown, stirring occasionally.  Drain off excess fat.  Add the 2 cups water, 2 cups beef broth, garlic, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, sugar, salt, paprika and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a steady simmer.  Keep covered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (must do it for 2 hours in order for meat to tenderize)

2) Stir in carrots, onions and potatoes.  Return to a boil then reduce heat.  Simmer, covered until vegetables are tender.  Discard bay leaf.

3) In a bowl stir the ½ cup cold water and flour until combined.  Stir this mixture into stew.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Season stew with salt and pepper.

4) Serve and enjoy!

All American Apple Pie

Serves 10

*Best to use fresh picked apples from an orchard, which is a fun activity to do with your family! I used Macoun apples for this recipe but you can use your favorite.

Ingredients

-1 package of rolled refrigerated piecrusts (2 crusts) just makes life easier…although you can make a dough if you’d like! I used to make a dough before I had my children (when I had a lot of time on my hands!)

-1/2 cup plus 1 tsp white sugar

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-3 TBS corn starch

-1/2 tsp cinnamon

-1/4 tsp salt

-4 pounds of apples, peeled and cored

-2 TBS unsalted butter

-2 TBS lemon juice (I use fresh)

-1 egg beaten with 1 TBS water

Directions

1) Heat oven to 400. Unroll the piecrust into a pie dish.  Push it into the dish and refrigerate.

2) In a bowl, mix the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt.

3) Cut the apples into ½ inch slices (after you’ve peeled and cored).  Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.  Add apples, lemon juice and sugar mixture and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

4) Pour apple mixture into pie dish with crust.  Unroll second crust and place on top of pie dish.  Crimp edges together and be sure to put a few slits in top.

5) Brush the top with egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar.  Bake for 20 minutes at 400…then at 350 for another 25 minutes.  Cover pie with foil if it browns too quickly.

6) Serve with vanilla ice cream!