Who Says Halloween Is Just For Kids?

When I was younger it seemed such a chore to figure out what I was going to be for Halloween. Most of the time I didn't figure that out until Halloween day, just hours before heading out the door with our pillow cases in hand to gather all our treats. Halloween is much more fun now than it was when I was a kid. 

I've always believed Halloween was for the little ones. But now that I am older and my son is grown with a son of his own I truly believe Halloween is for grandparents!  I love watching the excitement surrounding all the little ones as they get ready to enjoy the Halloween festivities.

Gettin' Ready

Every year we enjoy taking the kids on a Halloween outing of some sort so they can enjoy a fun day filled with a little trick-or-treating or pumpkin gathering and play. Plus it gets us parents and grandparents off the hook from having to decorate! Hah!

This year we took them to Crossroads Village’s Halloween Ghosts and Goodies where they were able to trick-or-treat around the village, enjoy a magic show and take a ride on the Ghost Train.  And the decorations were already done!

Our Little Monsters

We enjoy a nice tailgate party prior to starting our outing - filled with hot dogs and other yummy treats. This year I made some delicious treats to share. These peanut bars were the bomb. (If you click on the link below the pictures it will take you right to the recipe I used.)

Salted Peanut Bars

 And this caramel corn was to die for. Oh so yummy and delicious.

Caramel Corn

Some other yummy things I made at home for us not so young folk were Crescent Mummy Dogs.

Crescent Mummy Dogs

I think they tasted a little better with crescents than tossing them in a regular old bun. 

And we may not be quite so young but still had a little fun with some Creepy Mini Pizzas.

Creepy Mini Pizzas

The dough can be pre-made and tossed in the freezer to make a quick weeknight meal.

And who can resist doughnuts this time of year. I took a doughnut recipe and just made them into mini-muffins. Nothing's better than homemade, right?

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

And they tasted just as good as the ones you get at the cider mills.

Halloween is a great time of year to enjoy the little ones and also enjoy all the goodies you wouldn't normally get during the rest of the year.

So young or old - or somewhere in between ;) - Get out and enjoy Halloween. The little ones make it so much fun!

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.   Product received from an Advertiser is only used for experience based reviews on this site. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of KGora.

Getting My Creative Juices Flowing

I could do something with rice. But I've seen many rice dishes. I could do a breakfast burrito. Ugh! Someone did that already :( I could do a pizza. But that's so common. Hmmmmmm!! What do I do?

Being faced with the requirement of creating our own recipe using al fresco sausage through the Allrecipes Allstars Brand Ambassador program, my mind was going in all different directions. Anytime I would think of something I noticed someone beat me to the punch. Everyone has great ideas and it seems like I'm the slacker - waiting until the last minute. What will I make? I'm not good at creating my own recipes. I can throw ingredients together and have something come out fantastic but if someone asks me how I did it or what the measurements are they're out of luck. And I probably couldn't recreate it again. I made some of the best fried chicken one time and have never been able to duplicate that flavor. I've come to learn to write things down as I go just in case it turns out to be a keeper. But sometimes I forget or lose the paper I wrote it down on. Yes - I'm not very organized when it comes to that.

After racking my brain for many days it finally hit me. That's it - I'll make soup. After all, I'm always after a quick easy lunch idea and the weather is turning cold. I'll do something with lentils and the Smoked Andouille Chicken Sausage I had on hand.

Nope - I changed my mind again. You see there's this broccoli dish that I'm in love with and usually only get at holiday time. I could do a spin off of that but use a mini muffin pan and make appetizers or a cute little snack! That's it - by George I think I've got it!

So I went to work. I gathered all the ingredients I would need....

And then started chopping and dicing....

And cutting and slicing...

And then mixing everything all together...

To get this beautiful colorful concoction :)

I then tossed a little butter into each space in a mini muffin tin...

And then tossed it in the oven for a few seconds until melted and then swirled it around to get each space nicely coated with the melted butter...

And then I took my handy dandy little cookie scoop ...

And filled each empty muffin cup with my colorful confetti batter...

Into the oven it goes for 20 minutes and this is what you get...

Yummy goodness...

Now doesn't that just make you want to pop one in your mouth right now?

Here's a quick peek of the insides...

Now they're ready to serve. I couldn't resist these. They were so yummy warm right out of the oven. All that cheesy spicy smoky goodness. It took me awhile  to name my recipe but here it is...


Smoky Andouille Mini Hot Bites - You won't be able to eat just one...

And here's the link to the recipe...

http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/63359091/smoky-andouille-mini-hot-bites/detail.aspx


I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.   Product received from an Advertiser is only used for experience based reviews on this site. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of KGora.