GREEN DEVILED EGGS

Add some Halloween drama with some creamy deviled eggs with a kick!

These Green Deviled Eggs are really made from avocado and wasabi, and are so devilishly delish, no one will be able to resist them! This recipe comes from Laura Bashar of Family Spice, and it's a goodie, so check it out...

Here's what you'll need:
•4 eggs
•1 cup blueberries, frozen
•1/2 avocado, seeded and peeled
•1 tsp wasabi, paste
•1 tsp lemon juice
•1/4 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp sesame seeds, black

Instructions:

1.Place in a small pot:
•4 eggs
•1 cup blueberries, frozen

2.Cover eggs with water, cover pot and bring to boil over high heat.

3.Let eggs boil for 5 minutes, then turn off heat. Let eggs sit in the blueberry water for 10 more minutes.

4.Remove eggs, one at a time, and gently press and crack the shell with the back of the spoon.

5.Place cracked eggs in a bowl and add the blueberry water. Allow eggs to cool to room temperature, then place the eggs in the blueberry water in the refrigerator for 6 hours or up to overnight.

6.Peel the eggs and cut in half, lengthwise.

7.Scoop out the yolks and place in a bowl. Mix until smooth together with:
•1/2 avocado , seeded and peeled
•1 tsp wasabi , paste
•1 tsp lemon juice
•1/4 tsp salt

8.Place avocado mix into a piping bag and pipe into the hollowed egg halves. Chill until ready to serve.

9.Prior to serving, garnish eggs with:
•1/2 tsp sesame seeds, black

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Inactive Time: 8 hours chill time
Servings: 4
Serving Suggestions: Top with some charcoal salt for a spooky effect!

Cooking Tips: Add red and blue food coloring for more of a purple effect, as done above. For easier piping, chill the avocado mixture in the refrigerator for hour prior to piping.

More more fab-boo-lous ideas be sure to check out familyspice.com!  
       

HOW'D THEY DO THAT?

Ok, this is another "How'd they do that?" moment....

One of our fellow Halloweenies, Melinda sent me this photo, and was asking if I knew the magic spell to make this work.

Well, Melinda.... each Halloween Homemaker has her own bag o'tricks, so I may not know they exact way this was done.... but I can sure give you some crafty ideas to get a very simular look.

Here's what I'd do....

I'd get a bunch of cardboard toilet paper and paper towel tubes, some LED votive candles, some black or white spray paint, some clear fishing line, some craft foam (poly-fil or styra-foam would work) a drill and tiny drill bit, and my handy dandy hot glue gun.

I know it sounds like a lot... but I know we can do this! What I would do first, is take all the cardboard tubes and the craft foam, and cut a piece of foam to fit inside the bottom of the tube, and do the same on the other end, leaving room for the votive candle.

Then I'd spray paint all the tubes (White or black (whatever color you want the candles to be).... and remember once they dry, to spray paint the foam piece at the bottom.... because when you look up, you'll see the bottom of the candle, so you'll want to make sure it's been painted) let them dry according to the instructions on the spray paint.

While those are drying, you should start on the LED lights. I'd make sure they're all working... and then I'd take my drill and tiny drill bit, and make a tiny hole at the very top of the flame on the votive, This is where the fishing line will go through to attach, and make them hang straight. (If you drill the hole through the cardboard, they would hang at an angle.... but that might be a cool look too.... and you may want to experiment, to see what effect you like the best!)

Once the tubes have dried, and the votives have the holes drilled in them, then I'd add the LED votives to the top of the tubes. (Be sure to turn on the switch to each votive to light them up) Keep them secure with a few dabs of hot glue.

Just a suggestion..... if you want to leave the light off in the votive until just before your guests arrive, I wouldn't add the hot glue until about an hour or two before you want to turn them on, or you won't be able to get them out of the cardboard tube.... add the dab of hot glue after you turn them on.

Then, I'd measure the lentgth that I'd want them to hang, and cut the fishing line accordingly. When attaching the fishline, I'd tie a tiny knot, to keep it from slipping out of the hole that you drilled at the top of the flame.

I'd attach them to the ceiling or inside porch with tiny framing tacks. If you're going to hang them in a tree, I'd suggest just making a loop in your fishline, and tie or knot off the end around each limb.

This is such a magical effect, and looks like a super fun project. But if you find a better way to do it, please let me know. And make sure you take lots of pictures of your creation, so we can share it with our fellow Halloweenies!

Thanks for the idea, Melinda.... I hope I gave you some crafty project advice!

SNAP, CRACKLE AND BOO!

Ok....I had quite a few requests for my favorite Rice Krispy treat Halloween recipe. It's a spooky twist on an old favorite. Who doesn't love Rice Krispy treats?

Moms love 'em 'cuz they're super easy to make.... kids love 'em 'cuz they're yummy!

Well, just add a few drops of orange food coloring and hazelnut extract, into the marshmallow mix, and follow the directions on the cereal box for making the gooey treats.

Then roll into little round shapes and drizzle with chocolate. How easy is that? And the best part...... everyone will think you slaved over these decadent desserts.... but we'll know better, won't we?

OCTOBER IN NEW ORLEANS

There's nothing more wonderful than being in New Orleans in October. The weather is great, and the spirits are in the mood for Halloween!

The Count and I just returned from our short holiday, and I was so inspired, and got lots of ideas to share with you all. Here'a a few pictures I thought you might enjoy.

I had to make my ususal stop at Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo, to pick up a few supplies....

Stopped by St. Louis Cemetery Number 1, to say hello to my old friend....

 Marie Laveau....





 And was invited to party the night away, with some old friends of Pirate Jean Lafitte's. It was quite amazing.

So if you're looking for a faboo-lous getaway..... I would suggest New Orleans in October!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER!

What a glorious day! Happy October 1st to all my Halloweenies!

I don't know about you, but it sure seemed like this month was never going to get here! Well, thank goodness it has! I hope that you'll be doing the most to enjoy it!

The pumpkins are almost ready for carving, the decorations are almost ready to be hung.... and The Manor is all a buzz with the upcoming festivities, and I can hardly wait to share!

It's party-planning mode this week for The Queen, and I don't know about you, but I always find that during our parties, that some way-ward guests always seem to be wandering around The Manor.

Now don't get me wrong... I loooooove our party guests, but sometimes there are rooms I don't want anyone to go in. (The closet in our bedroom is just frightful!) So I was trying to think of a way to keep the party guests downstairs..... and I saw this idea from the fine folks at Party City!

All you'll need is some black mesh-like material, tons of black, plastic mice and rats.... and some fake black leaves.

Guaranteed to keep those pesky, unwanted guests from going through your underwear drawer!

IT'S A BLOODY CAKE!

Hello Halloweenies!

I know the countdown clock is just ticking away.... and I've got bunches and bunches of e mails asking for the easiest (and fast!) Halloween cake idea..... well here it is....

It's a Bloody Cake!

Now you want to talk about easy as pie.... well... easy as cake, really. You can do this in 10 quick steps. You should already have a tub of plain white frosting and red food coloring in your Halloween pantry. Then it's a quick trip to the bakery and the halloween store, and here's what you'll do:

1. Go to your favorite bakery
2. Buy a cake with white frosting
3. Stop at the Halloween party store.
4. Buy a fake (plastic) knife or ax
5. Go home.
6. Take the cake out of the box.
7. Take a tub of frosting, add a few drops of red food coloring, mix well until it turns blood red
8. Heat the icing in the microwave for about 40 seconds to 1 minute (you want it to be a bit runny)
9. Pour over the cake, spread evenly, letting it drip over the sides
10. Stick the plastic knife or ax in the middle

Told you... 10 easy steps. *Poof!

Keep in mind... if this is an all-grown-ups-party, you could use a real knife and it would look.... killer!

But if little monsters will be anywhere around, I suggest you stick to the plan.... and go all plastic.

And there, I've just revealed one of my many magic tricks, to be a Halloween Hostess.

You're welcome.

PROJECT: PACKING TAPE GHOST

Happy Project Day, Halloweenies!

Now is the time to start organizing and preparing your front yard haunts for all your Halloween guests and trick-or-treaters! It's sooooooo exciting! And here's a FAB-BOO-LOUS idea that I found on thecraftygeeks.com to make your very own ghost for the front yard!

You'll need to find an old dress frorm (or any other human-ish form, you could even make one out of wire hangers, using a pair of needle nose pliers)

Now, according to thecraftygeeks.com.... From inside the house to out, here’s an easy but slightly more time consuming project to make an awesome and unique ghostly figure for your outdoor Halloween decorations.

You'll need to have on hand: 3 rolls of clear packing tape (give or take depending on size) a dress form, mannequin, or other human-ish shape to form your ghost over. (They used a dress form and a wig head)

To start, use decent lengths of packing tape, sticky side out, to wrap your form. Do it in pieces and cover the whole torso. It is okay if the tape sticks to itself in places – the wrinkles will be desirable in the final shape. Make the skirt from long vertical strips, folding the ends over to the length you want. It is okay if there are some gaps in the bottom, but you’ll want to keep these gaps when you do the next layer.

Once you have a complete sticky layer, go back over with the sticky side in (so sticky side to sticky side). Use longer pieces to wrap horizontally, pulling it tighter to your form, creating both better shape and better wrinkles. You’ll want to make sure you cover all sticky places.

If you are doing as they did and using a dress form and a wig head, do it in two parts and combine them after they are done to better match the necks.

When it’s all covered, cut a slit up the back until you can remove your tape construction from the form. Once it’s removed, take the slit back together.

All told, you’ll end up with about three layers of tape. If you have a tall tree, you can hang your ghost. Or, if you're putting her in an open yard, pound a piece of PVC pipe into where you want her standing. Use a straight connector for another piece so that the total height is greater than the height of your ghost, making her appear to float. Then paint the pipes dark green to better hide in the yard. At night, the pipes will barely be seen.

For the final piece to complete your illusion, you'll need a small spotlight. The crafty geeks used a blue LED one from Spirit Halloween, but you can use one in whatever color you like. Shine the light up her skirt and it will catch all of the tape wrinkles you created. You now have a creepy, striking figure for your Halloween display.

How SPOOK-TACULAR is this? Thank you Crafty Geeks!