Easy Halloween Recipes & Food Ideas

We're less than a week away from one of the most fun holidays for kids - HALLOWEEN! And, what's the most important thing about Halloween?  The yummy treats, of course!  If you're looking for one special Halloween recipe to make for your family or ideas for an entire Halloween party menu, I've got lots of super easy ideas from this Halloween party I threw for some of my little friends.
 

Spooky S'Mores

These just make me smile!  Break a graham cracker in half, and slide it in a clear treat bag with Ghost Peeps and a couple mini Hershey's Chocolate Bars.  If you want to jazz it up even further, add tag from my Halloween Printable Collection. If you want to eat them warm, you can pop them in a microwave for 10-second intervals.  Of course, I found the kids had a great time just eating all the parts individually.

Candy Corn Popcorn Balls

Candy Corn Popcorn Balls are a tradition at our house. Year after year, I get special requests for these, so you know they're good! This recipe from Cooking Light is super easy and, if you can believe it, LOW CAL! (Just 212 calories each...okay, not super low cal, but pretty good for a homemade dessert.)  I added a little extra cute to them this year by pushing in a wooden candy apple stick and tying a little ribbon to the top of the stick.  I also slid some into clear treat bags and tied them shut with twine around the base of the stick for some cute take-home party favors. To complete the look of this platter, I added a tent card from my Halloween Printable Collection.  This is one of the pre-formatted menu labels, but you can also type right in the PDF to create your own custom food tags and treat label tent cards.

Halloween Cupcakes

As busy moms and working gals, we can't do it all, but we can come pretty close.  That's why I love taking store-bought treats and adding a little of my own flair.  These Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcakes are perfect for Halloween with their deep black chocolate color and swirly white frosting detail. I auditioned the more famous brand of these cupcakes, but they didn't win the taste test...there was a clear difference.  To make these even cuter, I just added Halloween Cupcake Toppers from my Halloween Printable Collection and tied a little "Cupcakes" tag onto my glass dome. Easy, quick, and done!

Witch's Potion Punch

Sometimes, an easy name change is all it takes to go from ordinary to extraordinary.  Take some orange soda, call it "Witch's Potion Punch", and voila!  You could use sugar-free Kool-Aid, too, if you wanted to reduce some of the sugar intake at your party.  To make my soda look even more fun, I poured it into some recycled Target latte bottles and added Halloween paper straws from Hey Yo Yo.

Monster Mix

Halloween can be sweets overload, so it's good to have a little salty on hand, too.  Going with an easy, store-bought approach + name change again, I created Monster Mix by pouring Chex Mix into adorable orange candy cups from Hey Yo Yo. The tent-card label is from (you guessed it!), my Halloween Printables Collection. I also saw a fun Halloween recipe on Pinterest by In Katrina's Kitchen that would be fun to use, as well.

Halloween Cookies

At any party, it's really nice to have one special sweet.  Lindsey at Tickled Pink Cookie Boutique definitely knows how to make a party special.  Her cookies are so gorgeous in person with a light shimmery lustre...absolutely stunning and super delicious with a hint of almond extract. Bewitching!  I love how she was able to perfectly match the designs in my Halloween Printables Collection.  Of course, she can match any party theme, so be sure to like or bookmark her Facebook page.  She ships, too!

Halloween Mini Candy Bars

Details, details, details!  Here's another easy trick for personalizing your Halloween Party.  Wrap Hershey's Miniatures in festive orange and black paper (3 x 1.5" strips work well).  Or better yet, use the Halloween Mini Candy Bar Wrappers that come in my Halloween Printable Collection.  

Cutie Clementine Oranges

Looking for a healthy Halloween snack?  Load up on some Cutie Clementines.  These are the perfect shade of orange for Halloween, are easy to peel, and oh so delicious!  Don't they look super cute all piled up in the bottom of this basket stand?!

Halloween Candy

And, finally, what Halloween Party would be complete without candy?!  I love to make a bold visual impression, and this big jar of orange gumballs from Party City does just that. To save money when filling big candy jars like this, I always stack clear plastic cups upside down inside the jar to make a hallow center. Every little bit counts! I also used some of Party City's black-and-white striped candy sticks that have a great grape flavor that won't stain your mouth all up. Since I love candy corn, a jar of this is a must for me, too!

All of the amazing photos in this post were captured by Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer, a fantastic event and family photographer in Huntsville, AL.

Back to School Party Fun

Back to School is such an exciting time of year.  Lots of anticipation for the school year ahead, butterflies in the tummy, and reuniting with little friends you haven't seen in what seems like an eternity. I miss those days, so it was a thrill to get to style a Back-to-School Party for the cover of Madison Living magazine's September issue.

For all you sentimental mommies, I think it helps to look at these photos with "This Time of Year" by Better Than Ezra playing in the background...it's my fall jam!

All of these wonderful photos were taken by the amazing, Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs.  I love working with her on special events. She's fabulous at capturing all of the special little moments, so I highly recommend her for your children's birthday parties and especially family photos.  If you book a session with her in 2012, you'll get exclusive access to Christmas Cards designed by Belly Feathers.  A special perk just for Click Photo Designs customers.

I love how this pencil vase turned out.  It's just a mason jar surrounded by pencils held on with an elastic band, which is nicely hidden by the green polka dot ribbon. Super easy and super cute! This mini chalkboard was quite a find in Target's Dollar Spot section for only $2.50. I think I'll have a lot of fun with this around our house, too.

One of the best parts of school is snack time.  We had little cartons of pretend apple juice and butter cookies with the little holes in the center strung together with red and white baker's twine.
  

The super adorable outfits the kids are wearing were all provided by Bonnie Blue Boutique.  Isn't the headband above just gorgeous?!  This whole outfit is by Persnickety, and Bonnie Blue Boutique just happens to be the largest retailer of this clothing line in Alabama.  I can see why!  Owner Jennifer is fabulous at helping you pick out a great outfit, and I particularly love Persnickety because all of the pieces are mix and match, so you can create a really versatile wardrobe out of just a few pieces.

All of the decor for the party was simple and sweet.  I based everything off a cute apple rubber stamp and fresh green and red apples. I had my heart set on a chalkboard for the kids to play with, and when we couldn't find one, I made this one out of a thrift store mirror and chalkboard spray paint - a much easier project than I thought.  I love using my cupcake stand in non-traditional ways, and the fresh apples couldn't have been cuter displayed on it.

Hope everyone has a great school year full of bright ideas, special memories, and of course, fun PARTIES!

To see more Back-to-School Party photos, check out the September issue of Madison Living magazine.

Free Summer Printable Files for Memorial Day, 4th of July & Labor Day

In case you missed them earlier this summer, here are some free Summer Holiday Printables I designed just for fun.  Included in the summer printable file are two sizes of graphics and ideas for how to use them on all the major summer holidays: Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.

Hope you enjoy! Download the Summer Printable PDF file now.

The Best Freezer-to-Table No Bake Dessert for Summer Delizza Cream Puffs & Mini Eclairs

Memorial Day starts the summer cookout season. From here until the fall, most of our weekends will be spent around the grill with good food and great friends. This time of year, it's especially nice to have some extra yummy treats stashed away for spontaneous gatherings and last-minute barbeques. That's why I absolutely love Delizza Desserts. I can keep a couple boxes of their cream puffs and mini eclairs in the freezer, and just pop them out 30 minutes before I need them...so easy and so super yummy. They really are the Best Summer No-Bake Dessert!

In the summer, I also love to keep a stack of bandanas around for fun napkins. They really brighten up the table at a cook out and give it a little extra panache. The cloth bandanas are super casual and little fancy at the same time...kind of like Delizza Desserts - easy and elegant. That's why it seemed perfect to decorate my Delizza Desserts boxes with a bandanas, so they're always barbeque ready whenever I need them.  Of course, I couldn't stop there, I had to design some cute printables for the extra special summer cookout holidays - Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day.

Freezer-to-Table No Bake Dessert for Summer 
Supplies: 

• Delizza Desserts Cream Puffs or Mini Eclairs, two boxes for a bountiful display 
• One bandana
• Elastic, 2 feet
• Safety pin

Create a 2-3 inch overlapping fold in the center of your your bandana.

Turn and create another 2-3 inch overlapping fold in the center of your bandana on the opposite side to create a smaller square.

Place your box of Delizza Desserts in the center of the folded bandana, so that the flat sides of the box are centered on the points of the bandana.

Tightly wrap your length of elastic around the top center of the box, creating an inch of overlap. Secure elastic with a safety pin.  Make sure the elastic band is tight around the box and remove.

Gather the points of the bandana to the center of the Delizza Desserts box lid.

While carefully holding in place, lift the box up and place on top of your elastic band. The safety pin should be centered on one of the sides of the box.

Slowly slide the elastic band up around all four sides of the box to hold the bandana in place.  (This is how I store my box in the freezer until I need it.)

Fold the sides of the bandana down to completely cover the elastic band.  Pop the lid off and enjoy! 

For a really full box, I like to add the contents of a second Delizza Desserts box.  It's fun to mix in two different types like the cream puffs and mini eclairs for extra variety like I did in my photos. Plus, that gives a little something for everyone.

Isn't this so super cute?!  For the the big summer holidays like Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day, you can use these summer printables to create a fun sign to pop into the box.

A couple months ago when Delizza Desserts approached me about trying their products and blogging about them.  I was super excited because I love serving their cream puffs at baby showers and parties all winter long.  They're a really easy way to expand a menu and add an elegant touch.  I had never even thought about how perfect they'd be for summer parties, though. They're cool and refreshing (at least they are if you can't wait for them to completely thaw like me...so yummy!), and they keep you from having to cook in a hot kitchen.

I'm really excited to have Delizza Desserts as a new no-bake dessert in my entertaining arsenal for the summer, and I hope you will, too.  In fact, I've got two chances for you to win a Delizza Dessert item of your choice.

How to Enter to Win:

1. Head over to Delizza's website at www.delizza.us, and check out all their yummy flavors.  
2. Then stop by my Facebook page, and post a comment to tell me which Delizza Dessert is your favorite or the one you plan to try if you win.  Leave your comment on my Facebook page by midnight central on June 7th.

I'll draw two winners on June 8th to receive a coupon by mail redeemable for a free Delizza Dessert.  If you win, I'll message you to get your mailing address.  Good luck and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo: Margarita Party

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is a personal favorite of mine. Any excuse to enjoy margaritas makes for a great time in my book! Therefore, I'm thrilled to share these beautiful Margarita Party photos with you. Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs in Huntsville, Alabama, did a fantastic job of capturing all of these details.

Cinco de Mayo Party Inspiration

My husband Roger loves preparing Mexican dishes, especially recipes from Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday cook book.  (Roger is a fabulous cook!)  So, we wanted to plan a party where guests could enjoy some of our favorite Mexican dishes along with traditional favorites like chips, salsa, queso, and MARGARITAS, of course!

I was inspired for the party design last year (I know! I know planning for a year is crazy...that's just how I do!), I found some Better Homes and Gardens party ware at Walmart in marigold orange, goldenrod yellow, and lime green that I absolutely loved (select pieces are now available at Ross).  I based the color palette and flower design around a few of the items from this collection that I purchased, such as vinyl tablecloths, a serving tray, and some melamine plates that my husband transformed into a two-tiered tray (see picture of limes).  One of the tablecloths was used as the backdrop for our buffet. I literally carried one of the plates around in my purse for months, so I could match napkins, ribbon, etc.

Cinco de Mayo Decorations

I love Mexican paper flags (aka papel picado)!  They set such a festive tone, so I created my own simple version using tissue paper and baker's twine (See my Mexican Paper Flags tutorial).  I hung them everywhere to guide my guests from the front door to all of the party areas in my house.  They provided excellent visual queues.

I'm a big fan of shopping your own house for party decor to save money and to get a unique look, and for this event, my father-in-law let me shop his!  The large copper plaque was something that hung above the fireplace in his parents' house growing up.  I thought it created a stunning focal point with a Mayan feel.

My best friend Jessica had given me an apple martini dry erase board from Target a few years ago, and I transformed it into a margarita for my front door with by making a little lime out of paper for its rim. Too perfect!

Cinco de Mayo Drinks

We kept the margaritas simple by using one recipe premixed into a large drink dispenser, which guests could have on the rocks or frozen. Since we love margaritas, we already had a Margaritaville frozen margarita maker, which makes perfect frozen drinks! (Check out our house margarita recipe!)

We also had some Coronas available, as well as a variety of Jarritos Mexican sodas for the kids, which are easy to find in the international sections of many grocery stores. The sodas were a big hit! I love these paper straws that I ordered from Hey Yo Yo on Etsy.

HOSTESS TIP: I'm not normally a fan of vinyl tablecloths, but for a margarita party, they were perfect for cleaning up sticky spills and not showing signs of mess as the party progressed into the wee hours.

Cinco de Mayo Food

My husband prepared spicy beef Chile Colorado and mild Chicken Verde for the party's entrees, which we served with flour tortillas, homemade roasted tomato salsa in mild and spicy (Mmm!), sour cream, and guacamole. Some guests made tacos with the entrees, while others made nachos. 

I'm a big fan of keeping the day-of-party prep simple, which includes not cooking more than you can manage. Our group of friends love the light, flaky tortilla chips from Phil Sandoval's Mexican Restaurante in Huntsville, AL, so we had them cater the chips, queso dip, and guacamole, which helped keep things simple for us.  They were all super yummy!

I had some fun with the guacamole, and served it in an extra large margarita glass that I found at Old Time Pottery.  I even salted the rim and added a lime to add to the margarita look.

For dessert, I made no-fry Fried Ice Cream with a crunchy honey cinnamon coating.  I knew fried ice cream would be a yummy and unique dish to have outside of a restaurant, so I knew I had to give it a try. Surprisingly, it was super easy to make ahead and pull out of the freeze when it was time to serve. A big hit with everyone! Be sure to check out the recipe.

They say the heart of the home is the kitchen, and when margaritas are served on the kitchen table, this is especially true!  We had a wonderful time catching up with friends all night long around drinks. I can tell you the most rewarding part of having a party was watching new friendships form between guests that had not met before, and it absolutely makes me want to throw more events.

Sarah, thanks so much for your help! My photographer Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs was truly a delight to work with and her eye for detail really shows in all of these wonderful photographs from the party.  In addition to photographing special events, she takes the most incredible photo journalistic style family and children's portraits.  I always look forward to Click Photo Designs updates in my Facebook feed - always beautiful eye candy!

See more ideas, recipes, and inspiration from this Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party:

• Cinco de Mayo Margarita Recipe (our own house mix)
• No-Fry Fried Ice Cream Recipe
• DIY Mexican Paper Flags: Easy Papel Picado Alternative
• Easy Chicken Verde Recipe

What are your plans for Cinco de Mayo?