Halloween Party and a Giveaway!

Hello and welcome to everyone visiting for the party!
Thank you Vanessa for hosting!
(I just found out about this party earlier this week, so I'm kind of bummed I didn't have time for a few things I wanted to do.. But I'll post them eventually if they work out right!)

I have some fun photos I took last night at a Halloween event, a few recipes and a giveaway.. hope you find something interesting!!

We had a great time last night at Greenfield Village. The dinner at the tavern was pretty amazing.. we ate by candlelight while a fiddler walked around and played music.

And then when we finished dinner, we went out into the night..

We found a bride still waiting for her beloved, he's been dead a long, long time..

We found a haunted mill.. Watch out! There's a black cat!

At Sleepy Hollow we spotted the headless horseman! Spooky!

Late last night I heard cackling outside.. I looked out to see a witch flying by!! :)

And did you all know I grew up in a haunted house? It's true, but it was only my great grandfather and grandmother, so we were family! :) But toys used to start up all by themselves, we'd feel a tapping on our shoulder only to find no one there, cups would fall out of cupboards, our cat would totally freak sometimes and hiss and hide, and we'd hear their dog barking and a man talking on the porch. Well..even if they were family, it was pretty scary when I was little!

How about some recipes?..

pumpkin torte
2 c crushed graham crackers
1/3 c sugar
½ c melted butter
2 eggs
¾ c sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c pumpkin
3 egg yolks (save whites)
½ tsp salt
½ c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ c milk
1 envelope plain gelatin
¼ c cold water
3 egg whites
¼ c sugar

-Mix crushed graham crackers, 1/3 c sugar and melted butter. Line a 9x13 pan with mixture.
-Beat 2 eggs, ¾ c sugar and cream cheese. Spread on top of graham cracker mixture. Bake 2 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool.
-Combine pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, salt, ½ c sugar, cinnamon and milk. Cook until thick.
-Mix gelatin and water. Add to pumpkin mixture. Let cool.
-Beat 3 egg whites and ¼ c sugar until stiff. Fold into cold pumpkin mixture. Pour over cooled crust.

Note: Be careful if you're using a pie pumpkin.. one Thanksgiving my dad was cutting the pumpkin up for my mom for this recipe and he cut his hand and had to get stitches! Not fun!

popcorn balls

(I got this one from Martha)

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter
10 oz. bag mini marshmallows
¼ cup brown sugar
3 quarts popcorn
1 cup m&m’s

In a large pot, melt butter. Add marshmallows and sugar. Allow marshmallows to melt. Add popcorn and m&m’s and mix. Make balls from the mixture. (Butter your hands first so they don’t stick to all of that marshmallow goo)

apple pumpkin pie
From Mrs. Gardiner’s Receipts, 1763

3 cups pie pumpkin
3 cups apples
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
Pie crust

Peel pie pumpkin. Cut off seedy parts, and cut pumpkin into slices. Peel and core apples; cut into slices. Place bottom crust in 9” pie plate. Sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar over pie crust. Layer apples, pumpkin, and sugar in pie crust until full. Dot filling with butter, and cover with top crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Note: You can find a great recipe for pie crust here.

And my first giveaway!

A fun Martha Stewart banner, a wooden skeleton ready to be decorated, orange hot chocolate, lip balm, bookmarks, vintage stickers and seals and, (something practical!) one of my many lunch bag prototypes that will very soon hit the shop. Oh and a cute little orange drawstring bag that I stamped a bat onto. :)

Leave a comment by 8pm est Monday, Oct 20th and I'll pick a number at random. I'll announce the winner on Tuesday!