Friendly Chocolatey Ghosts ; Halloween Special!

When you have little kids at home, it is rather hard to ignore Halloween. You have to participate in the spirit of it and have the kids dress up in some costume, go trick-or-treating and of course, make some scary treats!! Last year, I put together these " mummy dogs" which was a big hit.

This year, I thought of making something that would appeal to them , is easy to put together and would be relatively healthy. I came across these cute ghost snacks somewhere. For the life of me, I cannot remember where but the image has stuck in my head.I think it was an ad I came across by snack-pack pudding. I had to re-create it and the kids loved it.

In fact, they helped me make it! Do give it a try! Bet your kids would enjoy it too.. It is also a nice way to make your kid eat bananas.

Servings: 4 ( 1 cup per person)

Ingredients:

Snack-pack Chocolate pudding cups: 4

Bananas: 4 small or medium sized bananas
Chocolate chips: 12 numbers

Method:

Peel each banana and cut 6 inches from the top. Keep the cut portion of the banana on a plate.

Open the flap of each of the pudding cup. Insert one piece of the cut banana in each cup.

Take 3 chocolate chips per banana and insert it into the banana in such a manner that it looks like the eyes and mouth.

Voila!

 Your ghost is ready! Yes, it is as simple as that!! I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday,Fiesta Friday #92 and Saucy Saturdays.

Cooking made easy:

Make sure that the banana are firm ( just turning yellow) and not over-ripe.

Tip for healthy living:

If you have children who are fussy with fruits and vegetables, one of the ways to introduces healthy food to them is combining  or pairing them with the unhealthy food. This ways it does not look like a bad deal to the child and it is a win-win for both the parent and the child. Some examples would be combing fruits with chocolate by dipping the fruit lightly in it; serving rice and vegetables with chips or crackers. In fact, one of the favorite ways for my son eating his lunch is : one scoop of rice and vegetables with one piece of cracker( usually goldfish or cheese-its).

Food for thought:

A champion is a dreamer that refused to give-up. Unknown

Halloween special: Messy sausage mummy!

I didn't know what Halloween was until I came to this country! I used to read about it in books and wonder what kind of celebration/ festival is this?? Well, I still don't know! Why is Halloween celebrated?? Do you know?? Hence, it is hard for me to generate the required enthusiasm for this particular celebration. Why? I don't see a point to it! But I do do a little something because of the kids! I am the kind who runs around the last minute! Then again, I have no Halloween party to go to, my daughter's school doesn't allow them to come to school in their costume and my son is too little to know anything!! Ok, ok, I am not a party spoiler! That is why I dressed my daughter in her favorite Princess Aurora costume and my son as his favorite character Winnie the Pooh! Awww.. They looked so adorable & soo happy! That is why I even came up with a Halloween- themed snack! Sausage mummies!! I came across this by chance at work on tv!! I liked the idea of it and decided to make them! It looked super-easy to make! You can find the original recipe here. But by the time I made it ( after trick-a-treating and in between laundry), it seemed like a Herculean task! I just didn't have the patience to make long ropes and patiently wrap it up! I was wayyyy too tired. I just wrapped them and baked them! That is why I named them messy mummy! Someday, when I have patience I will make it again and post better pictures!.

Here is the step-by-step of my version of the recipe!

I am bringing these messy mummies to Angie's Fiesta Friday! I am so excited to share the concept of it with all my friends there! Happy Fiesta Friday and Happy Halloween everyone! This week Jhuls and Margy are co-hosting.

Servings: 5 ( two per person)( nobody can eat just one!

Ingredients:

Turkey sausages: 1  package of 10 sausages.( any sausage can be used; we don't eat meat, hence turkey)
Pillsbury biscuit: 1 package ( makes 10 biscuits)
Mustard : as needed to make eyes.

Method:

Take a single sausage . At the junction of the upper 1/3 and lower 2/3 cut the sides of the sausage to make arms, as shown in the picture.

No make a slit in the bottom of the sausage to make legs. Leave the upper 1/3 for the head.

Take a single biscuit dough and divide it into three parts; two big equal ones for the arms and the legs and the small one for the head.

Roll the pieces into 2 long ropes and one short rope.

Using the small one, wrap the head portion of the mummy. Using one of the larger ropes, wrap one arm and leg on one side, starting from the leg working your way up. Now do the other arm and leg starting from the bottom, making the shoulder and then working your way down the arm.

Line up the mummies on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake the mummies for 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Take them out and let them cool down slightly. Once cooled, make the eyes and mouth using the mustard.

Serve with ketchup or your favorite dip!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Clean-up after baking becomes a chore especially when there is drippings or the pans are burnt. You can prevent this headache by lining your baking pans/ sheets with aluminum foil. When done, all you have to do is take the foil out, gently wash the pans, dry and put them away! You can even use the foil to wrap leftover baked goodies!

Tip for healthy living:

Truthfully, even though, sausage tastes great on the tongue, I know it is not healthy. It is not good for you. You really don't know what is in a sausage!Most often, sausage is made from the scraps of leftover meat! It is also high in nitrites and sodium which is bad for the body!

Food for thought:

Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it. Agatha Christie