Mummy Pizzas

Here is another favorite of mine for Halloween. This is another repeat from last year, but if I'm making it again...you can, too! I love this time of year...its so fun!!! We'll be having these on Saturday night after we get home from our Halloween party. They are quick, fun and easy...you can't beat these for a tasty Halloween dinner!!!

Mummy Pizzas

1/4 C lukewarm water

1 T yeast

1 1/2 T sugar

Mix above ingredients and set aside for about 5 minutes (they should start to fizz)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 T vegetable oil

1 C lukewarm water

2 1/2 - 4 C whole wheat flour

1/2 T dough enhancer

1/2 T gluten

10 cheese sticks

1 jar prego spaghetti sauce (or favorite pizza sauce)

10 green olives (cut each in half)

pepperonis and sausage (if desired)

Mix together the salt, vegetable oil, water 1 C of flour and dough enhancer and gluten. Add yeast mixture and mix. Add flour until dough is just "not sticky" to the touch. Knead dough for 8-10 minutes or until it is very stretchy. Divide into 10 evenly-proportioned dough balls. Roll into very thin circles (my kids loved doing this). Cover with spaghetti or pizza sauce (we used Prego and it was delicious!). Let kids pull apart string cheese into strips. Lay each half of the green olives on the pizza for eyes. Lay down pepperoni or sausage. Layer string cheese in strips over the rest of the pizza, being sure to cover everything EXCEPT the eyes of the mummy. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes...your kids will LOVE this activity!!!

Nothing says Halloween like Mummies and Pumpkins

This post is for those who own my cookbook. I posted these last year, but they are so cute, they deserve to be re-posted. My sister made these...aren't they so cute???

Refer to the Rich, Delicious Chocolate Cake Recipe on page 119, EXCEPT make them into cupcakes instead. The baking time will decrease to 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Put an M&M in the middle for the nose. Use M&Ms for the eyes. Cover face (leaving space for the eyes and mouth...but cover the nose) with strips of white frosting using a flat icing tip. Put a small black dot in the middle of the M&Ms for eyes.

For the Pumpkin Cream Puffs, refer to page 129 in your cookbook. To get them to puff a little higher...if you are using freshly ground flour, you can increase the flour by 1-2 T. If you choose to use the amount listed, just scoop the cream puffs into a pile and they'll bake higher...I'll give more specific instructions on this later.

Pumpkin Cream Puffs:

Follow instructions, mix and bake as directed. After they have cooled, fill as directed and then pipe on some green leaves on the top as shown in the picture. You can also pipe on some jack-o-lantern faces if you like. They are really cute.

Need something for a potluck???

We are going to a potluck dinner on Halloween day and then the kids will out go out and trick-or-treat with a bunch of friends directly from the potluck...fun, huh? I'm considering bringing these cute little ghosts...aren't they so cute??? They are easy, too, and, of course, whole wheat. People raved when I made them last year. I haven't met a person yet who doesn't love a good eclair!

Ghost Eclairs

½ C butter
1 C water
1 C finely ground and sifted whole wheat flour
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook water and butter over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add whole wheat flour and stir until mixture comes to a ball. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. I used a deluxe icing decorating tube, but you can use any tool you have to squeeze out finger-sized pastry logs. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely.

Mix the following until thickened:
8 oz. cream cheese (beat this first until fluffy)
2 (3.4 oz.) pkgs. vanilla instant pudding
3 C milk

Top with mixture of 1-1 ¼ C chocolate chips, 4 T butter and powdered sugar (if desired) to taste . For very smooth chocolate, use less powdered sugar. You can use up to 1 ½ C powdered sugar. You may need to add 1-3 T of hot water, depending on how much sugar you added to get it to a smooth, drizzling consistency. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Makes about 28 eclairs. (I prefer the chocolate chips and butter without any powdered sugar, but some like it a little sweeter)

Use white frosting to pipe on a silly face and mini chocolate chips for the eyeballs…mmmm!!!!

Witch's Brew

I got this idea from my sister and it is WONDERFUL! I took it to my daughter's classroom Halloween party and the kids went crazy over it. I'm going to be taking it again this year for my other daughter. Can't wait to see the response!!!

Witch's Punch

2 pkgs. green jello (dissolved in 4 C hot water)

1-64 oz. bottle of pineapple juice

2-2L sprite

6 scoops of lime sherbet (melted)

1 lb. dry ice

Add dissolved jello (cooled to room temperature), pineapple juice and sprite to a large kettle. Drizzle lime sherbet over the top. This will make a frothy punch. Place your kettle in a large bowl. Fill the outer bowl (surrounding the kettle) with dry ice and pour warm water over the dry ice. As you serve the punch, hold the cup down into the fog created by the dry ice and then hand a foggy cup of witch's brew to the kids…they love it!!!

Another twist...click here for directions to throw in a fake hand!

P.S. I'll be having a major sale on my cookbook over the holidays...stay tuned. If you know someone trying to convert to a whole-grain lifestyle, you won't want to miss this deal!!!

Hotdog Mummies

This is another idea I got from that fun website. Pretty easy, but so cute and your kids can do it themselves. These are quick, easy and tons of fun! They also make a plain old hotdog A LOT more appetizing!

Hotdog Mummies

Use previous recipe for breadsticks. Roll out into a large rectangle. Cut into skinny strips and wrap around the hotdog, leaving a space for eyes. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Use mustard to put eyes on and serve hot.

Halloween Fun!

I love Halloween! Like many people, this month starts my favorite few months of the year. With the weather getting chillier, it feels the noose of intense heat has finally started to loosen. I'm happier, my kids are happier, we have tons of fun activities planned...ahhh I love the fall. We had a little stay-up-late night tonight and made a whole bunch of fun Halloween treats. The kids LOVED it! I got a few of my Halloween ideas from one of my favorite cooking websites that my friend, Sara, introduced me to. I check this site all the time for fabulous recipes and tons of fun party ideas. If you'd like to check it out, it is melskitchencafe.com. Anyway, I have a breadstick recipe I really like that I think I've given out before. Here it is again, with some fun direction changes to make the breadsticks into bones...they are SO FUN!!!

This recipe is from my cookbook on page 73.

Elizabeth's Soft Whole Wheat Breadsticks

1 T yeast

1 1⁄2 C warm water

1 1⁄2 T powdered milk

2 T honey

33⁄4 C sifted whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp dough enhancer

2 tsp gluten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix yeast and warm water and let sit until fizzy; this will take a few minutes. Mix together powdered milk, and honey. Add yeast mixture. Add 2 C whole wheat flour, dough enhancer and gluten and sprinkle salt on top of the flour. (This will keep the salt and the yeast separate) Mix well. Add whole wheat flour 1⁄2 cup at a time until dough is just not sticky. Knead for about 8 minutes. Roll out into breadsticks and smother in room temperature butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Let rise for 20-30 minutes, or until breadsticks have doubled in size. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until light golden brown. Makes 8-10 large breadsticks

Serve breadsticks with Alfredo, garlic butter, or Savory Perfect Marinara Pizza Sauce (These are all found in Sauces, Frostings and Dips section)

Note: To make these into bones, roll out the breadsticks to about 8-10 inches. Tie each end in a knot. Let them rise and bake...TADA...breadstick bones!!!

Grilled pizza...my new favorite!

I've been hearing about grilled pizza for a while now. I thought to myself, how can grilled pizza be so much better than pizza baked in an oven? Why all the "hype" over this grilled pizza? I decided to try it out, just for kicks and oh...my...gosh, I don't think I'll eat it any other way from now on! To be honest, I burned the first one...I was really sad. The second one, however, was DELICIOUS! The crust was perfectly crispy and chewy at the same time! It was so good! If you've never had grilled pizza before, You HAVE to try this! I'll give out my recipe for my garden-fresh pizza that I made last year, when I had a garden, that actually sprouted and grew vegetables. I took the picture last year, so it wasn't with my new grilled-to-perfection crust.

Grilled Pizza

Use this dough recipe from my other cookbook:

1⁄2 C lukewarm water

2 T yeast

3 T sugar

Mix above ingredients and set aside for about 5 minutes.

1T salt

1/3 C oil

2 C lukewarm water

5-8 C sifted whole wheat flour

1 T dough enhancer (optional, available at health food stores)

1 T gluten (optional, available at health food stores)

Mix salt, oil, 3 C of flour, dough enhancer, gluten and water together. Add yeast mixture. Add whole wheat flour 1⁄2 C at a time until dough is just not sticky, DON'T add too much flour. Knead dough for about 8-10 minutes, making sure that dough is pliable, and is not sticky. Place dough in large, greased bowl and let rise for about an hour, punching down and kneading briefly every 10 minutes. Preheat grill for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Roll dough into four large pizzas. Brush top surface with olive oil. Get all pizza toppings ready and in place near the grill. The toppings will have to be placed on the pizza VERY quickly. Place it on the grill. Watch it closely, making sure it doesn't get burned…it will only cook for about 2-3 minutes. Using metal tongs, flip the pizza over to grill the other side. Add your toppings quickly and close the grill for another 2-3 minutes of baking. Pull it out and serve. Delicious!