HALLOWEEN FUN FOR DINNER

If you need a fun Halloween dinner idea this one is for you.  I remember having dinners like this in my youth but we called them something different but now I believe we would call them Mystery Dinners.  The items on the menu are named mystery names so you don't know exactly what you are getting but that is what makes it so fun.    There are many ways to do this but this is the one I came up with for a recent high school dance for my daughter and her group.   It is easy to adapt to a family.

Menu:

I am including the word document I printed off to make the menus-

WELCOME TO A

SPOOKTACULAR

Dining Experience

APPETIZER-

 Please choose ONE of the following choices and write the number on the order paper provided:

1)           Troll Bogies

2)          Corpse Extremities

3)           Frankenstein’s Teeth with Dragon Scales

 DESSERT-

Please choose ONE of the following choices and write the number on the order paper provided:

 

1)     Disections Glory

2)    Cemetery Plots

3)    Ghosts in the Graveyard

 ENTRÉE-

Please choose the ORDER of your ENTRÉE dishes and put it on the order paper provided:

1)           Devil’s Inferno

2)          Ground Grasshoppers & Werewolf  Nails

3)          Road Kill Thrill

4)          Vampire Stakes

5)          Slimy Swamp Grass

Some frightening fun while you wait…

1)             Why did the skeleton go the party alone?

2)            What road has the most ghosts haunting it?

3)            What position does a ghost play in soccer?

4)            What room is useless for a ghost?

5)            Why are vampires tough to get along with?

RIDDLES:

1-It’s right behind you…creeps on the ground, follows you home

Does not make a sound-better turn around-

What is it?

2-“Look at you,” the old witch said.

“You’re no use to me till I cut off your head!”

Where is the witch and what/who is she talking to?

 

I burned the edges with a lighter and then added spider webbing for effect.
I included order papers on the bottom of each menu so they could put their name and selections on it. 

Here are the food items that go with each Spooky name:
APPETIZERS:
                        TROLL BOGIES  (purple jigglers cut into cubes)

 

 

CORPSE EXTREMITIES (apple sliced lengthwise and thin for palm of hand, banana sliced into thin strips for fingers, red grapes cut lengthwise for fingernails)

FRANKENSTEIN TEETH WITH DRAGON SCALES (Ritz crackers for scales and orange cheese cut into long cubes for teeth)

ENTREES:
DEVILS INFERNO (any type of red drink (we used cranberry juice) with small chunk of dry ice in it)

ROAD KILLTHRILL (parmesan chicken, use Tyson frozen breaded breasts, add hot marinara sauce to top after completely cooked, turn off oven but leave in oven and add shredded mozzarella cheese)
SLIMY SWAMP GRASS (Fettuccine Alfredo)
                            Recipe for delicious Alfredo sauce:
                                   Bring to boil stirring constantly:  1/2 C butter
                                                                                         1 C heavy cream
                                                 Then add 3/4 freshly grated parmesan cheese
                                                 (Not the Kraft jar kind or pregrated, it does
                                                   not melt right)
                                    Stir until smooth and cheese is completely melted.
                                    Add salt and pepper to taste.
GROUND GRASSHOPPERS & WEREWOLF NAILS (Olive Garden type salad with black olives as the nails.  Sam's Club sales Olive Garden dressing and croutons so it really tastes just like it .. )
VAMPIRE STAKES (breadsticks)

DESSERTS:
DISECTIONS GLORY (cake balls, dipped in white chocolate and painted to look like iris)

CEMETERY PLOTS (brownie square in bottom of cup with chocolate pudding on top then add crushed oreos and gummy worms)

GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD (rectangle graham crackers standing up with the help of a little frosting with marshmellow dipped in chocolate for a Smore effect)

We served the dinner one course at a time and the kids loved it.  All ages of children would enjoy this, it was a big hit even for high schoolers.

Here are the answers to the Frightening Fun section:
1) Because he couldn't find any body to go with him
2) Dead End
3) Ghoulie
4) A living room
5) Because they can be a pain in the neck

Riddles:
1) Your Shadow
2) She's in the garden talking to a cabbage

                                       

 

 

"Why we love you on your birthday"

We do this for each persons birthday in our family... 
During dinner we go around and each family member tells why and what they love most about the birthday boy/girl/mom or dad.  It is a tender, bonding experience to hear each person in the family share specifics about the special birthday person and is something everyone looks forward to on their special day.  I highly recommend giving it a try in your family.

Olympic Party

One of the most exciting things to celebrate as a family is the Olympics and since they don't come around all too often it's a fun reason to have a great party!

These ideas can be used for a birthday party or family party. 

                  TORCH   CAKE-To make the torch cut out a flame from construction paper. Cut a short plastic cup in half lengthwise and attach the flame to a plastic cup.  Put the cup towards the top of the cake.  Use tinfoil to create a handle. 

We had our own family Olympics.  Each person picked their country (no one could be from the USA) and then each person had to locate that country on a map and learn one cool thing about that country and share it with the family.  Each person then made them a sign with the country name and colors that we taped to our shirts. We did events such as  bobsledding by putting a small, single sized air mattress on the top of the stairs and then riding it down the stairs and whoever went the farthest won.  We had ice skating by clearing off our wood floor and each person taking turns doing their routine with stocking feet.  We did ice hockey by using brooms as hockey sticks and then used a stuffed animal for a puck.  We did curling by putting a circle on the wood floor with colored tape and another line of colored tape about 15 feet from the circle.  We would stand on that line and then push a Frisbee in curling style to see who could get it closest to the circle. 

 

We also made Olympic ring jello for our dinner.  I tried to make one for each color of the rings.  The black is a little hard but I did really dark purple. 

We had a medal ceremony with medals I purchased from Oriental Trading or they have some at Zurchers' party store.  It was definitely one of our best family nights ever. 

Best pancakes EVER! Perfect for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

If you really want to make people happy...

Make these pancakes!

Once you do you will be asked over and over again to make them for all kinds of events,

get togethers and functions.

 

 

 

GINGERBREAD PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP

 

1 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 1/4 C milk

1/4 C molasses

3 TBL oil

 

Mix all dry ingredients together.  In a separate bowl mix egg, milk, molasses and oil together.

Combine dry and wet ingredients together and mix until blended.  Cook on hot griddle.  Serve with Buttermilk syrup.

 

P.S. I double or triple this recipe for my family of 7.  I have made this for a crowd of 95 (14 x's it) and a basketball team of 25 (5 x's it)I .  For a function where you have to feed lots of people this is great to premix and store in an icecream bucket and refrigerate until needed.  

 

BUTTERMILK SYRUP

 

2 C sugar

2 C buttermilk

! C butter

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 c corn syrup

 

Combine all ingredients (except vanilla) in a BIG POT-this is an 8 quart pot (it will swell up very high so make it in a large pot).  Bring to a boil, stirring more than occasionally but less than constantly.  Continue to stir and boil until a carmel  color.  (It will boil up and then go back down) Remove from heat and add vanilla. 

Serve on pancakes and/or over icecream. 

This is the syrup when it is boiling up.  Obviously not done as it is not a carmel color.

 

IDEA: GINGERBREAD MAN RUNS WILD!
Read the story of the Gingerbread man and then create one with your children.  Costco sells a great package with 4 large ones and all the makings to decorate.  Also Peppridge Farms sells a box with several little ones in it or you can use a great recipe to bake some.  After decorating them tell your kids you need to stick them back in the oven to make sure the decorations are cemented on (don't really turn the oven on however).  Set the timer for 10 minutes.

During that time distract your children somehow and either do it yourself (but they will be suspicious) or call a neighbor over to do the job of removing the Gingerbread man from the oven and hiding him outside somewhere like in the mailbox, car or bushes etc.  IMPORTANT: leave the pan in the oven.  When the timer goes off have your kids come to get him out.  He will be gone.  The excitement is fantastic.  Send them on a hunt to find him. 

When they find him ask them how they could be sure he doesn't get out again because he needs to go back in for another 5 minutes or so.  Hopefully they will come up with the idea to tie it shut.  After you have tied it shut set the timer and distract them again and get him out and hide him in a different place.  Have them come to the oven again and this time leave the rope lying in the pan. 

Send them on a hunt for him again and after finding him, hopefully they will want to stand guard.

 After standing guard for a short time you can finally get him out and eat him.

This is one of the most fun Christmas activities and your children will love it!  I did it at preschool this week and have attached some video to go along with the pictures.  (Please forgive that two of them are not the right direction -I am learning.)