Contest & Halloween Menu by Annie Nicholas

Every year a group of us take our kids out trick or treating together. This year I decided to host a prep party before our monsters go door to door, a quick easy meal full of fun.  Not just for the kiddos either.
For the amount of people that will be showing up I'll be doing this buffet style and keeping it simple.
The menu:

Goblin Fingers
Ingredients
•     vegetable dip
•     4 long carrots
•     1 medium carrot
•     softened cream cheese
•     sliced-almond
•     baby carrots
Instructions

To prepare them, just fill a serving bowl with your favorite vegetable dip. Wash and peel 4 long carrots for fingers and 1 medium carrot for a thumb.
With a paring knife (a parent's job), cut a flat, shallow notch in the tip of each carrot. Then use a dab of dip or softened cream cheese to glue a sliced-almond fingernail atop each notch.
Stick the fingers in the dip, as shown, and serve with plenty of peeled baby carrots for dipping.

Mummy Dogs

Ingredients
•     1 11-ounce can of refrigerator breadsticks
•     1 12-pack of hot dogs
•     Yellow mustard
Instructions

For each mummy, separate one breadstick from the roll and use kitchen shears or a knife to slice it in half lengthwise to create two thinner strips.
Wrap one strip at a time snugly around the hot dog. Depending on the size of the hot dog, you may not need all of both strips. Leave about 1/2 inch of hot dog exposed for the face area and continue wrapping the top of the hot dog.
Bake the mummies on a cookie sheet at 350º for 15 to 18 minutes or until the breadstick wrapping is golden brown.
Remove the mummies from the oven and cool them for 5 minutes. Add yellow mustard eyes just before serving. Makes 12 mummies.

Melon Brain

Ingredients
•     1 small seedless watermelon
Instructions
1.     Use a vegetable peeler to remove the entire green rind, exposing the inner white rind.
2.     Slice off the bottom of the melon to create a flat base that will keep it from rolling. With a toothpick, outline squiggly furrows that resemble the folded surface of a brain.
3.     Finally, carve narrow channels along the tracings with a sharp paring knife (a parent's job) to expose the pink fruit beneath the rind.

Here's a video link:  http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/melon-brain-688972/
I found all the above recipes at www.familyfun.go.com
And finally for dessert Tombstone Brownies

There's no official recipe for this since I only found the picture but I'll use a brownie mix and sugar cookie premade package. Then use chocolate icing to glue the cookie to the brownie and decorate with a candy pumpkin and green colored coconut.
Happy Halloween! I'm off to hunt down a tombstone shaped cookie cutter.

Now for the contest:  One lucky commenter will win a pdf ebook from Annie Nicholas.  This is a worldwide contest. Void where prohibited by law.  The deadline is Oct. 31, 2011 at noon Eastern Time.  To be eligible, say "I need one of Annie's books" in the comment box.  To learn, more about her books, visit her website below.


Annie Nicholas
www.annienicholas.com


The Vanguards Series
Sometimes a woman needs to root for the under dog.

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