Vampires Be Gone Spaghetti

Ingredients:

10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Several pinches of hot red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or as desired
1 pound spaghetti
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 head of broccoli, broken into bite-size florets
Freshly grated Parmesan, or other grating cheese

Instructions:

Boil water and add noodles to cook as usual, except about half way through cooking add the broccoli and let the noodles and broccoli finish cooking at the same time. Drain, but reserve about half the cooking water for later. Warm approximately half of the garlic with the pepper flakes in the olive oil over medium heat (turn on the vent and open the kitchen window or you’ll be crying in your spaghetti!) Toss the pasta and broccoli with the garlic/chile oil and add the remaining garlic to the mix and continue to toss to coat. Add a few spoonfuls of that reserved water and keep tossing, add more water as needed. Kind of have to eyeball it until it’s well coated and tossed to your liking. Serve up and sprinkle with grated cheese. There will be no fear of vampires bothering you after this dinner!

Totally Batty Cupcakes

What You Need:

1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. chocolate cake mix
1 (16 oz.) can chocolate ready to spread frosting
24 fudge stripped cookies, halved
24 chocolate kisses
Red decorating gel

How to Make It:

Prepare the cake and bake as directed on the package for 24 cupcakes.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack
Frost the cupcakes with the frosting.
Place 2 halves of the cookies into each cupcake to represent the bat wings being sure the stripes are to the backside of the cupcake.
Carefully press a chocolate kiss into the front of the cupcake to represent the bats head.
Place two small drops of the red decorating gel onto the kiss to form the eyes.

If you want your cupcakes to look really batty scallop the edges of the cookies before adding them to the cupcakes.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Preparation Time: approximately 25 minutes
Baking Time: approximately 20 minutes + cooling
Total Time: approximately 45 minutes + cooling

Monster Face Burgers

What You Need:

8 (4 oz.) ground beef patties
8 buns
8 slices of American cheese
8 slices of thin deli ham
16 sweet pickle slices
Ketchup

How to Make It:

Preset the oven to the broiler position and allow the broiler to heat.
Spray a broiler pan with a non stick cooking spray.
Place the patties onto the prepared pan.
Broil the patties 4 inches from the heat for 5 minutes.
Turn the patties over and continue broiling 6 minutes or until the patties are cooked through.
Remove the patties to paper towel to drain.
Separate the buns and place the bottom half of the bun on a serving platter.
Place one cooked burger on each bottom bun.
Cut the cheese slices in half in a zigzag pattern to look like teeth.
Place one piece of cheese onto the burger with the “teeth” hanging over the edge.
Fold 1 slice of ham to resemble a tongue and place over the first piece of cheese so that it also hangs over the edge.
Place the second piece of cheese onto the folded ham tongue.
Place the top bun on each burger.
Attach the sweet pickle slices to the top of the buns with toothpicks to resemble eyes.
Place a dab of ketchup onto the middle of each pickle to complete each eye.

If the weather permits grill these burgers instead of broiling them. It will give your monsters a little charred look making them a little scarier. Green olive slices with pimento may used in place of the sweet pickle slices and ketchup if you prefer.

Makes 8 burgers

Preparation Time: approximately 25 minutes
Cooking Time: approximately 11 minutes
Total Time: approximately 33 minutes

Nutritional Information (approximate value per burger):
Calories 480; fat 28g; sodium 1,260 mg; carbohydrates 24g; sugars 7g; protein 36g

Easy Chicken Burritos

Ingredients:
3 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 jar (16 oz size) salsa
1 (14.5 oz) can refried beans
1 (8 oz) pkg shredded taco cheese
1 (8 count) pkg burrito size tortillas

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Place the chicken breasts in a large sauce pan.
Cover with the salsa.
Add just enough water to cover the chicken.
Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.
Chicken should be white all the way through when done.
Remove the chicken from the pot and cool until easily touched and shred the chicken.
Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
Bring back to a boil to reduce the liquid of the mixture if it looks to watery.
When mixture becomes as thick as you like, remove it from the heat.

To Assemble:
Lay tortilla flat.
Place 3 T of refried beans down the middle of the tortilla.
Place 4 T of the chicken mixture on top of the beans.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Fold in the sides of the tortilla and roll until completely closed.
Continue until you used all the tortillas.
Lightly spray a cookie sheet with a non stick cooking spray.
Lay the burritos on the cookie sheet.
Bake 12 minutes or until the burrito just begins to brown.
Serve with sour cream and guacamole and a side salad.

To Freeze:
Before baking, wrap each burrito in the wax paper.
Place the burritos in a freezer bag.
Freeze for up to 3 months.

To Reheat:
Unwrap the burritos.
Place in the microwave for about 3 minutes or just until the burrito is beginning to thaw.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray a cookie sheet with a non stick cooking spray.
Lay the burritos on the cookie sheet.
Bake 12 minutes or until the burrito just begins to brown.

Applelicious Sweet Potato Casserole

What You Need:

 

2 large sweet potatoes
2 Golden Delicious apples, cored and sliced into rings
1/2 C orange juice

1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 TBSP pecans pieces

How to Make It:

 

Place the sweet potatoes in microwave safe dish.

Microwave the potatoes on high 8 minutes, rotating once, until just starting to soften.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle peel and cut into chunks.

Spray a casserole dish with a non stick cooking spray.

Cover the bottom of the dish with part of sweet potatoes.

Layers part of the apples over the sweet potatoes.

Continue layering until all the sweet potatoes and apples have been layered.

Place a saucepan over lower heat.

Pour the orange juice into the pan.

Stir in the brown sugar and cornstarch.

Add the ground cloves. 

Heat the mixture over low heat stirring continuously until sauce begins to thicken about 5 minutes.

Once the sauce has thickened to you licking pour it over the sweet potatoes and apples.

Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the pecan pieces.

Bake 18 minutes or until the apples are fork tender.

 

Serves 6

 

This makes a wonderful addition to any Thanksgiving meal.  You can replace the pecans with walnuts or use mini marshmallows instead. 

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