Hallowe'en 2013

Hallowe'en went really well this year! I hosted a small house party, got to decorate and dress up. Overall, a fun time.

I had both a food table and a bar set up. The above picture doesn't contain all the food, but there was a cheeseball, apple slices, pumpkin dip, caramel dip, candy; not pictured are the gluten-free cake balls and the buffalo chicken dip. We ate a lot of crackers and chips.

I used felt I got on sale at Michael's to make the bat decor. I used a template, printed, pinned, and cut. Scotch tape on the back held them to the wall. However, beware: the cat decided to pull them down at all costs.   

One of my guests has a gluten intolerance.



Gluten Free Cake Balls
1 box Gluten Free Cake Mix
8 oz (1 package) cream cheese, softened
1 bag Wilton Candy Melts
50 Cake Pop Sticks

Bake cake mix to the directions on the box, let cool. Crumble cooled cake into a large mixing bowl and stir in softened cream cheese until the cream cheese has been absorbed. Shape into balls.

Melt candy melts as per directions. Drop prepared cake balls, one by one, into the melts, coat. Remove and place on wax paper. Insert cake pop sticks halfway into balls, allow to cool.

The bar was a lot of fun to set up as well. It was a good way to get rid of a lot of extra alcohol we had but didn't enjoy. Unfortunately, we didn't get rid of it all.

The pumpkin jars are empty spaghetti jars, painted orange on the inside, with Sharpie faces. The skull in the foreground was purchased at Michael's for $1, and painted. You can even see Cthulhu!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Creamy Chicken and Pasta

Mmmmm pasta.

All we had left was a chicken breast and some cream cheese. Boyfriend did NOT want to go grocery shopping. Fine! I said. I'll make something.

Recipe
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 Extra Large bouillon cube
Tablespoon Italian seasonings
1/2 cup water
1 diced chicken breast
4oz cream cheese
Half pound pasta
Paprika (optional)

Serves 3

Brown garlic and butter in medium saucepan. Add bouillon cube and water, heat until dissolved. Add seasonings and chicken breast, cook until chicken is done. Add cream cheese, stir until melted. Simmer while pasta is prepared. Add pasta, stir to coat. Serve topped with paprika.

This is a pretty cheap meal--without chicken, it is about $3-4, around $5-6 with it. It satisfies the need for delicious creamy goodness. The chicken is not necessary, so it makes a great there-is-nothing-to-eat meal. And Boyfriend liked it!

Also, leftovers make an easy lunch.