Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite holiday.  Get dressed up, hand out candy and see all the cute costumes for kids, what's not to love?  Next Halloween we'll have an 8 month old and I saw the cutest 'sock monkey' outfit for a baby.

My friend Natalie (see her blog here: Soiree Bliss Event Planner Blog ) had a small Hand Out Candy party at her house this evening and it was a great idea!  Here are the ingredients for a successful Hand Out Candy party for those of you who will be, well, Handing Out Candy next year!

• Food for friends
• She made a Curried Butternut Squash Soup with French bread (yum!)
• Recipe for the Curried Butternut Squash Soup
  
  • 2 Tbs unsalted butter
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
  • 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
  • 1 medium russet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 Tbs curry powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup milk (low fat or fat-free is fine)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Sour cream or Greek yogurt, for garnish
  Melt the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and carrot and saute over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until the onions begin to soften.  Add the squash, potato, ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, and salt.  Saute for 2 minutes.  Add the stock, milk, cream, honey, and paprika and bring the soup to a boil.  Decrease the heat, cover the pot, and simmer the soup over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.  Add black pepper to taste.  If the soup seems too thick, add more milk or chicken stock. 
  
  Optional: Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Or mash the soup in the pot so there was still some texture.  Or eat  it as is.   Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt on top.
  
  
  Also, here is a picture play-by-play: Photo Play by Play for Curried Butternut Squash Soup
• Have yummy sweet snacks for the friends 
• We referred to this treat as "Ghost Poop" but it's generally referred to as "White Trash"

• Ingredients:

  • 6 cups assorted unsweetened cereals (we used rice and wheat Chex)
  • 3 cups salted nuts
  • 2 cups pretzel sticks
  • 1 1/2 cups m&m's
  • 1 1/2 cups candy corn
  • 2 - 12 ounce packages (4 cups) white chocolate chips

  Preparation:

  Cover large surface with waxed or parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, mix together cereals, nuts and pretzels. In a microwavable bowl, melt white chocolate chips in microwave on 70 percent power for 1 minute. Stir. If necessary, continue to microwave in 10 to 15 second increments until melted. Stir melted chocolate into cereal mixture until well coated. Quickly spread out over covered surface. Once cooled, break-up and store in resealable containers or bags.
• Buy a bag of candy every time you go to the store for a few weeks ahead of time so you have enough
• Have a few Halloween movies on hand to watch before the kiddos get there
• Have each guest bring a bag of their favorite candy to add to the 'stash'
• Have a few cute masks or hats or crowns for guests to wear

We hung out on the porch for about 2 hours and handed out candy to all the cute kids.  We had so much fun and I really felt like I got to experience Halloween the 'old fashioned' way!

Casey and Leah masked up and ready to go!

My DIY pregnant costume and Katie the Rabbit!

What's your favorite Halloween tradition?

Next on Fabrycated Mom:  Are we roasting the pumpkin seeds now?

XOXO
-Lisa