Great Pumpkin Cake

Great Pumpkin Cake

• 1
• pkg.  (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
• 
  
• 1
• pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 
  
• 1/4
• cup  butter, softened
• 
  
• 4
• cups  powdered sugar
• 
  
•  Few drops each green, red and yellow food coloring
• 1  COMET Cup

PREPARE cake batter and bake in 12-cup fluted tube pan as directed on package. Cool in pan 10 min. Invert cake onto wire rack; remove pan. Cool cake completely.

MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese and butter in medium bowl with mixer until well blended. Gradually beat in sugar until well blended. Spoon 1/2 cup frosting into small bowl; stir in green food coloring until well blended. Spread half the green frosting onto outside of ice cream cone; set aside. Reserve remaining frosting for later use.

ADD red and yellow food colorings to remaining white frosting to tint it orange. Spread onto cake to resemble pumpkin. Invert ice cream cone in hole in top of cake for the pumpkin's stem. Pipe the reserved green frosting in vertical lines down side of cake.

Halloween Mummy Spinach Dip

what you need

1

pkg.  (16 oz.) frozen pizza dough, thawed

1

 egg, beaten

2

sticks  KRAFT or POLLY-O Mozzarella String Cheese

2

 black olive slices

1

cup  BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream

1/4

cup  KRAFT Lite Ranch Dressing

1

pkg.  (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

1

 green onion, sliced

1/2

cup  finely chopped red peppers

1/4

cup  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4

tsp.  ground black pepper

 WHEAT THINS Original Snacks

make it

PAT dough into 12x6-inch oval on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Indent dough, about 3 inches from one end of oval, for the mummy's head. Let rise in warm place 20 min. or until doubled in volume.

HEAT oven to 375ºF. Brush dough with egg. Bake 18 to 20 min. or until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped lightly. Pull apart string cheese to make about 16 strips; arrange on bread for the mummy's wrappings. Bake 1 to 2 min. or just until cheese is melted; cool slightly. Press olive slices into bread for the mummy's eyes; cool completely.

MEANWHILE, mix sour cream and dressing in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in next 5 ingredients. Refrigerate 30 min. or until ready to serve.

USE sharp knife to remove bread from top of mummy's body; scoop out bread from center, leaving thin shell on bottom and side. (Reserve bread top. Discard removed bread or reserve for another use.) Fill bread with spinach dip just before serving; cover with top of bread. Serve with WHEAT THINS. 

Bats & Cats Chocolate Halloween Cookies

what you need

3

cups  flour

1-1/2

tsp.   Baking Powder

1/2

tsp.  salt

1

cup  butter or margarine, softened

1-1/2

cups  granulated sugar

2

 eggs

1-1/2

tsp.  vanilla

1

pkg.  (4 oz.) BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate, melted

2

tubes  (0.68 oz. each) decorating gel, any color

make it

HEAT oven to 350°F.

MIX flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add chocolate; mix well. Divide dough in half; wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours.

PLACE half the dough on lightly floured surface; roll into 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into bat and cat shapes with 3-inch cookie cutters, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.

BAKE 10 to 12 min. or until firm around the edges. Cool on baking sheets 2 min.; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely. Decorate with gel.

Hot Dog Mummies

Crispy Phyllo Wrapped Hot Dog Mummies

From Food Network Kitchen

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_641388_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html?oc=linkback


No need to be too meticulous when wrapping these spooky versions of pigs in blankets; the raggedy look suits the mummy theme to a "tee."

Ingredients

One 16-ounce package bun-size hot dogs (8 hot dogs), each halved crosswise
2 ounces Cheddar, cut into 16 thin slices
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 sheets phyllo dough
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Ketchup, yellow mustard, barbecue sauce or your favorite dipping sauce, for serving and decorating

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut a slit in each hot dog piece and stuff with a slice of cheese. Set aside. Combine the salt, garlic powder and pepper in a small bowl.

Working with one sheet of phyllo at a time and keeping the rest covered under a damp towel or paper towels, lay a phyllo sheet on a large cutting board or counter and lightly brush with melted butter. Lightly sprinkle with some of the spice mix and fold in half lengthwise. Brush the top with more melted butter and cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips. Using 2 pieces of stuffed hot dogs per phyllo sheet, wrap half of the strips around each piece of hot dog to create a mummy look. Leave a small section of hot dog exposed towards the top so it looks like the top part of the face peeking out from the phyllo wrappings. Don't worry about frayed edges or tears-- it will add to the mummy look.

Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining phyllo, melted butter, spice mix and hot dogs. Remelt the butter if it cools down too much while forming the mummies.

Bake until the phyllo is crisp and golden brown, about 25 minutes. If desired, dot ketchup or mustard eyes on each mummy using a toothpick and serve with extra sauces for dipping.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_641388_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html?oc=linkback

Halloween: fun pumpkin decorations

Total Time 1 hourAges all-ages

Dried citrus rinds give this seasonal squash -- and his companions -- their un-natural good looks.

What you'll need

• Craft knife
• Hole punch
• Glue dots
• Spaghetti squash
• Two limes
• Black craft foam
• Duct tape
• Toothpicks
• Large bolts
• Black permanent marker

How to make it

1. 
   First, decide if you want to make Frank or one of his creepy friends.
2. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Use a craft knife to cut a circle of rind from the top and bottom of an orange or lime for the eyes (a parent's job).
    Cut a slit in the remaining peel and remove it intact to use for ears, teeth, and other features. If you're making the witch, reserve the larger pieces of orange peel for the hair.
3. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Clean the fruit from the rinds, then use scissors to snip out your character's facial features, as shown. Cut them a little larger than you want; they will shrink as they dry. To dry the pieces, bake them on a foil-lined cookie sheet at 175 degrees for 20 minutes, then allow them to air dry for about 1K hours (or until glue dots will stick to them).
4. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Use a hole punch to make a pair of pupils from the craft foam, then adhere them to the white side of the rind eyes with glue dots.
5. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Attach all the pieces with glue dots, as pictured. To make the ears stick out (for Frank and the Count), tape a toothpick to the back, leaving about 1K inches of the toothpick exposed, then insert it in place.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Finishing touches for Frank: Cut the hair from craft foam following the diagram at right and attach it with glue dots. Bore a hole on each side of the squash with a pencil, then insert the bolts. Use a permanent marker to draw the teeth
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   .
7. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Finishing touches for Witch: Cut a small mouth from the craft foam. To make a hat, cut the shapes shown at right from a piece of black craft foam. Roll the half-circle into a cone with a base slightly larger than the center of the ring, and secure the edge with glue dots. Tuck the cone's base into the center of the ring. For the buckle, double-fold a sheet of foil to create a square shape. Snip out the center, then adhere it to the hat with glue dots.
   
   
8. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Finishing touches for the Mummy: Wrap the pumpkin in gauze, using glue dots to attach the fabric as you go.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. 
   
10. 
    
11. 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Finishing touches for the Count: Cut a collar and hair from the craft foam, following the diagram at right. Wrap each around the pumpkin and attach them with glue dots, as shown.
    
    
    
    
    

halloween: Sweet Scarecrows

These autumn treats are so adorable and easy to assemble, they won't scare anyone away. In fact, set out a batch, and kids are sure to flock to them.

What you'll need

• Cookies (ours were about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
• White frosting
• Assorted sugar wafers (ours were about 2 1/2 inches long)
• Candy corn
• Mini chocolate chips
• Bran cereal (we used Kellogg's All-Bran Extra Fiber)
• Chocolate sprinkles

How to make it

1. Frost the top of each cookie.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Cut a sugar wafer in half. Add a dollop of frosting to the top edge of the cookie and stick a wafer half to it for a hat top, as shown.
   
   
   
   

Place a whole sugar wafer just below the hat top for a brim. Use a little more frosting to decorate it with slices of candy corn or mini chocolate chips.

Press pieces of bran cereal hair into the frosting around the hat.

For the face, press on a candy corn nose, mini chocolate chip eyes, and a chocolate sprinkle stitched mouth.

Garlic & Herb chicken

You Gotta Try it!!! Sooo Tender & Juicy!!!!!
MELT IN YOUR MOUTH CHICKEN

And it's Healthy...So much better than fried!!!

Ingredients

1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup Greek yogurt -plain
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash (Garlic & Herb Blend)
1/2 tsp pepper
Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
4-6 average sized chicken breasts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Lightly season both sides of chicken with your choice of seasoning. ( I use Mrs. Dash, garlic powder, onion powder, & black pepper) & arrange chicken on a pam sprayed baking sheet. Evenly top with Yogurt/Parmesan mixture, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 20-25 minutes. Absolutely Delish!!! Enjoy!!!