Editor’s note: Halloween has become, for better or worse, synonymous with letting down your hair and pigging out on sugary stuff.  The following recipes, are certainly not macrobiotic, but they are certainly easy to do, and decidedly less toxic than a lot of other recipes we have seen out there.  Besides, when you prepare food at home, you have a lot more control over what amount of processed goods you ultimately use.  

Processed sugar can be replaced with Agave nectar (which is about 1.5 times as sweet as cane sugar) or brown rice syrup (which is about half as sweet as cane sugar.)  Also, if you want to stay away from Type 2 corn byproducts, consider using Quick Cooking Tapioca in lieu of cornstarch.  So have some fun and enjoy:

Quick And Simple Halloween Recipes
By Jeff Layer

Bat Wings

1 dozen organic chicken wings
1 cup soy sauce or Tamari
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon ginger, crushed and chopped

Mix together soy sauce, honey, and ginger. Marinate chicken overnight. Grill in oven or barbeque.

Blood and Guts with Eyeballs

1 package green spinach pasta (elbow macaroni is best)
1 jar organic spaghetti sauce
stuffed Spanish olives

Boil pasta according to package instructions. Heat spaghetti spaghetti sauce. Cut olives in half to make “eyeballs” and place on top of the “blood and guts.”

Easy Caramel Corn

3 quarts popping corn
1 cup brown sugar (or 1/2 cup agave nectar)
1/4 cup corn syrup (or 1 cup brown rice syrup)
1 stick of butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Put popcorn in a heavy paper bag. Melt butter in a saucepan and mix together sugar, syrup, and salt. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and stir well.  Pour into paper bag and stir with a wooden spoon.

Put bag in microwave and cook on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Take out and shake well. Cook for another 1 1/2 minutes.  Shake bag again and pour into a large container. Serve in paper baggies that kids can decorate.

PUMPKIN RECIPES

Yummy Pumpkin Dip

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 large 30-ounce can of pumpkin
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger

Whip together and serve in hollowed out small pumpkin. Serve on a plate covered with black licorice “worms” or any Halloween-ish candy such as candy corn. On the side place ginger snaps for dipping. Toasted Treats

pumpkins seeds
shredded coconut
slivered almonds

Rinse the pumpkin seeds and remove all pumpkin. Dry on paper towels. Spread pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, and coconut onto a shallow baking pan.

Bake at 350F degrees for 5 to 10 minutes until golden.

Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 9-ounce Graham cracker pie crust
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 16-ounce can of pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Bake crust for 5 minutes in a 350F degree oven then set aside.

Mix together in a large bowl cream cheese, sugar, and eggs. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and ginger and mix until blended. Pour pumpkin mixture over pie crust.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes at 350F degrees. Let cool and refrigerate overnight. Plop a dollop of whipped cream on top of each slice and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
1 cup pecans, chopped

Mix together sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla in a large bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, add to pumpkin mixture, and stir well. Then add nuts. Bake in 2 loaf pans or coffee cans in a 350F degree oven for 1 hour 10 minutes.

This bread is always a hit!

Pumpkin Ice Cream

1 gallon vanilla ice cream
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Icing:
6 cups whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6-7 drops red food coloring
5-6 drops yellow food coloring
1/2 banana
chocolate syrup

Prepare this recipe the night before the party. Chill two 1/2 gallon freezer bags. Than put each freezer bag in a bowl. Let the ice cream soften a little, then scoop half the ice cream into each freezer bag and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on top of ice cream. Freeze overnight. Chill a large bowl and beat together whipping cream, sugar, vanilla, and food coloring to make a pumpkiny orange color. Refrigerate icing.

The next day remove ice cream from bags and place on a clean surface. Form into a pumpkin shape. Place it on a cookie sheet. Spread the orange icing around the ice cream. Use a spatula to make the pumpkin ridges. For the stem, take half a banana, dip it in chocolate syrup, and stick on top of the pumpkin.

Put the ice cream pumpkin in the freezer until ready to serve. Then transfer it to a serving tray. You can make jack-o-lantern eyes, nose, and mouth out of Halloween candies, too. Serve with chocolate syrup.

APPLE RECIPES

Apples are an important part of the Halloween festivities. Try this healthy apple on a stick recipe in place of caramel apples.

Healthy Apples on a Stick 12 apples (plus 12 popsicle sticks) peanut butter raisins dried cranberries shredded coconut Rinse apples, pat dry, and remove apple stems and insert a popsicle stick into stem of each apple. Cover apples by spreading peanut butter. Roll in raisins, dried cranberries, and shredded coconut. But, hey, if you love caramel apples, try this caramel apple recipe…

Caramel Apples

12 apples (plus 12 popsicle sticks)
4 14-ounce packages of caramels
8 tablespoons heavy cream crushed nuts

Rinse apples, pat dry, and remove apple stems and insert a popsicle stick into stem of each apple. Combine the cream and caramels in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir constantly until caramel is melted and smooth.  Dip the apples into the caramel until completely covered. Let the extra caramel drip back into the saucepan.   Roll in crushed nuts. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.   Place apples upside down on waxed paper and refrigerate.

Maple Baked Apples

6 apples
6 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter

Maple Sauce:
1/2 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Rinse apples and pat dry.  Core apples (remove the seeds) without piercing the bottom. Peel upper half of apples and place in a baking dish.  Drop a spoonful of brown sugar in each apple.  In sauce pan, dissolve cornstarch in cool cider.  Add lemon juice, maple syrup, brown sugar, and spices.  Stir well over medium heat until thickened.  Fill each apple with the maple sauce, then top apples with 1 tablespoon of butter each.  Pour 1/2 cup water in baking dish and bake for 1 hour in a 375F degree oven.  Top with raisins or chopped nuts.

Serve hot with vanilla ice cream on the side. You can also pour the remaining maple sauce over the ice cream or sprinkle ice cream with cinnamon.

HALLOWEEN DRINK RECIPES

Orange Punch

1 gallon orange juice
1 liter ginger ale
1/2 gallon orange sherbert

Mix together orange juice and ginger ale. Scoop sherbert and add to punch.

Green Ghoul Punch

1/2 gallon limeade
1 liter ginger ale
1/2 gallon lime sherbert

Mix together juice and ginger ale. Scoop sherbert and add to punch. Add marshmallows and maraschino cherries to float in punch.

Easy Apple Cider

1 gallon apple cider  
4 cinnamon sticks  
16 cloves  
1/4 cup sugar

Mix together and boil for 10 minutes, then remove cinnamon sticks and cloves. Serve in a black cauldron.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Layer http://EzineArticles.com/?Quick-And-Simple-Halloween-Recipes&id=774223

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