Halloween Goodies (Treats and Eats October Episode)

Watch this month’s episode of Treats and Eats with Krista and Jodi where we show you how to make some fun Halloween-themed treats and meals that are made easier and more delicious using the October monthly specials from Thrive Life! Please note: To be notified of future cooking demos you can text the word “DEMO” to 717-788-3663

October Recipes

Fruit Snack Jack (o-lanterns)
Spooky Stuffed Peppers
Spider Taco Ring
Graveyard Chicken Enchilada Dip
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Raspberry Ghost Cake Pops

Click here to view the October sale flyer) and contact whoever invited you to the demo to start shopping! If you need to grab any of the ingredients to make these recipes you can get them from 25-40% off and with free shipping if you shop through the Thrive delivery service or contact the person who invited you to watch the demo.

October Cooking Demo Replay – Halloween Goodies

FRUIT SNACK JACK (O-LANTERNS)

Healthy snacking with some Halloween decor. Perfect for your Halloween party!

Ingredients:
3 oranges
2 cups Freeze-Dried Fruit of your choice (Raspberries are ON SALE)

Directions: Using a paring knife, cut out your eyes and mouth for your orange jack-o-lanterns, dig out the orange part with a grapefruit knife and let dry. Fill with your favorite Thrive Life fruit.

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SPOOKY STUFFED PEPPERS

These spooky peppers can be made in advance as a meal-in-a-jar recipe and then put together in a jiffy on Halloween night.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt or Thrive Chef’s Choice Seasoning
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Chili powder
1 tsp. Cilantro
1/4 c. Thrive Green Chili Peppers
1/4 c. Thrive Onion Slices
1 1/3 c. Thrive Beef Dices (ON SALE)
1/2 c. Thrive Sweet Corn
2/3 c. Thrive Shredded Cheddar Cheese (ON SALE)
1/3 c. Thrive Red Bell Peppers
1/3 c. Thrive Green Bell Peppers

Directions: To make jar: Add all ingredients to a quart-sized jar in order listed. For a label and shopping list for making this in bulk click here.

To prepare: Combine jar ingredients and 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer 8-10 minutes until all items are softened. Meanwhile, cut the tops off of 3-4 orange bell peppers and scoop out the seeds and membranes. Dip in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then set in an ice water bath. Once cool, carve face shapes into the peppers to make mini jack-o-lanterns. Fill peppers heaping full of the stuffing mixture and put the lid on top to serve. Can make 3 large peppers or 4 small ones.

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SPIDER TACO RING

This tasty and festive spider will make a fabulous centerpiece for any Halloween dinner or party.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup Thrive Chopped Onions
1 tsp Thrive FD Garlic
Salt to Taste
1 cup Thrive Diced Beef ON SALE
1/2 cup water
1.5 cups Thrive Refried or Black Beans, prepared
2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1.5 cups Thrive FD cheddar cheese, reconstituted

3 cans crescent rolls
2 cups shredded lettuce
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
2 black olives

Directions: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion, garlic and caramelize a bit. Then add your beef to soak up the rest of that flavor in the pan. Add water, to rehydrate mixture and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in seasonings. Stir in and mix in refried beans. Remove from heat and let cool, stir in cheese.

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

For the spider body, unroll 2 cans of crescent rolls and divided into triangles. Arrange triangles on one prepared sheet with all the points facing out and the shortest sides of the triangles overlapping to form an empty 6” circle in the
center.

Spoon cooled taco mixture over overlapping portion of rolls, creating a ring of filling. Fold pointed ends of rolls over filling and tuck under (some filling may peek out between strips; that’s okay).

For the legs, separate remaining can of crescent rolls into triangles. Fold the tip of the triangle inward by 1”, then roll triangles up from the longest side, creating a thin rod about 7” long. Arrange on second prepared sheet in the shape of a wide “V”, then repeat with remaining crescent rolls.

Bake spider body on lower rack until golden brown and cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Bake spider legs on upper rack until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Arrange spider body on a platter. Insert 4 legs on each side of the body between strips so they’re standing upright. Fill center of body with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream in stripes; stick olives in sour cream for the eyes. Serve with more sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes along side, if desired.

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GRAVEYARD CHICKEN ENCHILADA DIP

This dip is sure to be a hit with it’s cute gravestones used as dippers. Can be made gluten free with corn tortillas!

Ingredients:
1.5 cups Thrive Cheese, reconstituted (Cheddar is ON SALE)
1 cup Enchilada Sauce
1 cup Thrive Grilled Chicken Dices (ON SALE)
12 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Thrive Green Chilis
1 tbsp. Taco Seasoning
4 Corn Tortillas
Extra Tortilla Chips for serving

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken and green chilis in a bowl. Add water to reconstitute chicken/green chilis, probably about 1/4 cup. Add water and/or drain as needed. Then add your enchilada sauce, cream cheese, and taco seasoning and mix well. Transfer dip to a cast-iron skillet and bake until warmed through and bubbly, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make tortilla graves: Cut tortillas into grave shapes and place on a baking sheet Bake until sturdy, 5 to 7 minutes. Top dip with shredded lettuce and insert graves. Serve with tortilla chips.

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PUMPKIN SUGAR COOKIES

You can use any sugar cookie recipe or mix to make these halloween-ish cookies but listed below is THE BEST sugar cookie recipe ever (courtesy of my mom Grandma Lori.

Cookie Ingredients:
2 c. Butter – room temperature (not melted)
2 c. White Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
1 c. Sour Cream (no light or fat free)
6 c. White Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt

Directions: Beat the first 4 ingredients very well, and fold in sour cream. Add flour, soda and salt. This is quite a sticky dough, so you have to roll out on a well-floured surface. Roll them a little thicker than normal cookies. Use pumpkin cookie cutters to make pumpkin shaped cookies. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 for 7-10 min. Take them out when they are just a bit underdone. The top is set, but there’s no browning. Let cool a bit on the pans, then remove and cool on wax paper on the counter. Once cooled make this frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 c. Butter
8 oz. Cream Cheese (not low-fat)
1 tsp. Vanilla
Powdered Freeze Dried Broccoli (ON SALE)
Powdered Freeze Dried Butternut Squash (ON SALE)
3 c. Powdered Sugar

Directions: Mix together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Then add powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Separate the frosting into a small batch and a larger batch. Powder your fruits and vegetables. Add broccoli powder to the small batch and squash powder to the larger batch. You can add some powdered carrots for a more vibrant orange. Make sure to add enough powder to get the color you want. Don’t add too much if you are worried about the flavors being too strong. This will make nice light pastel tones and avoid all the artificial dyes and chemicals from traditional food coloring. Frost your cookies with green stems and orange pumpkins!

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RASPBERRY GHOST CAKE POPS

While these ones are a little tricky to get the decorations to look good, my husband did say they were the best cake pops he’s ever eaten!

Ingredients:
1 Vanilla Cake Mix, prepared
8 ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature
1/4 c. Freeze Dried Raspberry Powder (ON SALE)
3 10 oz bags Vanilla Melting Wafers (or 24 oz Vanilla Almond Bark)
24 Candy Sticks
1 tube Black Decorator Icing

Directions: Make the boxed cake mix according to directions and let cool completely. Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature and soften. Powder your freeze-dried raspberries. Try about 1 cup to get about 1/4 of powder. You don’t have to be exact. Mix it with the cream cheese until it is nice and pink. It should be pretty concentrated. Crumble the cake up and mix into the cream cheese. It should become pliable after mixing for a while and almost like a thick cookie dough.

Using a cookie scoop make 24 balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Insert the candy sticks into the balls and freeze for several hours. Melt the vanilla chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler pan until smooth. Once the brownie pops are frozen, gently swirl each ball into the melted chocolate and coat well. Allow a little extra chocolate to drip around the edges of the balls to give the ghosts a bit of a “body”. Let the bark harden and then decorate with the black icing to make eyes and a mouth.

Don’t be too sad if it takes a few tries to get this right. My first attempt was fit to be on an episode of nailed it.

- Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://yourthrivelife.com