Please enter your e-mail address and select your state of residence.

Easy Halloween Party Food!

October 16th, 2018
Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Pumpkin cake I ordered at Sam’s

As you may or may not know, I love to throw my two sons Halloween parties.  I invite tons of kids and their parents and it becomes a fun potluck.  I ask the parents to bring one Halloween dish they would love to showcase and they NEVER disappoint.  Here are some of the fun and easy Halloween dishes the parents brought to the party.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Healthy monster jaws.

I love these delicious apple, peanut butter, and marshmallow treats made to look like monster jaws.  The mom also added a fruit roll-up as the tongue. This was a fun treat for the kids.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Monster, ghost, and pumpkin cookies from Sam’s

If you know me, you know that I outsource as much as I can, especially baked goods.  When it comes to my annual Halloween parties, my favorite place to outsource from is Sam’s.  I order my Halloween cakes from there as well as any thematic cookies. I would imagine Costco has the same fun desserts, but either way, buying in bulk is always a great thing for parties, so I highly recommend it!  Best of all, these cookies were a fraction of what I would pay for custom designed cookies.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Dirt n’ Worms

You cannot help but fall in love with this adorable dessert created by my friend Zalina.  Dirt n’ Worms! I love how she used fun black kettle containers.  Needless to say, I don’t think we had any left over!! They are filled with chocolate mousse (or you can use pudding), crumbled Oreo cookes, and gummy bears.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Monster Eye Cake Pops

My friend Tara did NOT disappoint with these fun and funny Monster Eye Cake Pops! We all know how hard it is to make cake pops look perfect… well, with this theme, the more imperfect the eye is, the better!  She made a regular cake pop mixture, rolled it, and dipped it in candy melts. Last but not least, she popped a candy eye on top and VOILA!!!

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Fruit ghosts and pumpkins

Seriously… can these be any cuter? My friend Jenna created these adorable tangerine pumpkins and banana ghosts. Adorable and healthy!!

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Spider Web Dip

I’ve made spider web dips before, but mine NEVER came out so cute! This was a delicious seven layer dip created by my friend who is an incredible entertainer.  This Halloween dip was a HIT and was the perfect savory accompaniment to all the sweet items on the buffet. DELICIOUS!!

 

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Some of the kids enjoying the Halloween buffet.

The calm before the storm.  This was early on in the party when just a few kids arrived. I typically have fifteen or more people hanging out in my kitchen which include adults and children.  When the party starts, everything is so well organized and displayed.  By the end of the party…. it’s not a pretty site!

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, sweets, Halloween sweets, spooky party, spooky treats, scary treats.

Halloween Bat Wings

My friend created these fun Halloween Bat Wings from Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups, Oreo Cookies, and candy eyes. They are ADORABLE!

Halloween Party – Purple Witch’s Finger Cake

October 10th, 2018

Loving this beautiful Halloween Cake with Green and purple witches fingers.

I have thrown fun Halloween parties for many years.  I usually throw a party every week in October… yes, every Friday, I will have some sort of a Halloween party.  I like to call them “taste testing parties” since the guests are bombarded with fun Halloween goodies and they get to choose their favorites.  Sometimes I create all the items for the buffet, but most of the time, other parents bring their creations and we all just watch the kids devour their favorites.  It has become one of my most fun and exciting events which I look forward to.  As you will see, I try not to do anything super scary, although I have been known to create some gory dishes on occasion (like my severed fingers hot dogs, which is a Pinterest favorite!).

Here are some fun photos from one of my parties, which I like to call Purple Witch’s Finger Cake (shown above).  You may say… “Why Arina, I had no idea you were a cake baker!” Well, rest assured… I AM NOT!!! If you know me, you know that I am well aware of my limits.  Throwing a party for 60 children means I do as much outsourcing as possible.  This cake was ordered from Sam’s and I simply chose it from one of their cake catalogs, available in the bakery section..  It came with the purple, green, and white frosting, clouds and bats.  The cake bakers did a great job making a two tiered cake.  There were times when I would order the three tiered ones, but they always came out crooked, so I stick with the two tiered cakes.

To customize it to be a Witch’s Cake, I went to Michael’s and purchased the fingers and witch silhouettes separately.  I have NO idea how the colors came out so perfectly, but even if they didn’t match, … my motto is and will always be… kids don’t care! I was very happy with the cake and so was everyone else. Oh, and it was soooo affordable, only $40!

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

 

 

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Cake with fun Halloween plates, my friend Heidi gifts me with every year.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

My sons’ decorations.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Buffet set-up for Halloween Party

I typically do a buffet set-up and provide the cake and a few other dishes.  Then, the parents of the guests bring their favorites.  Parents are always invited to the parties and are encouraged to stay and enjoy the festivities.

Here are some of the fun and creative Halloween inspired desserts created by my guests’ parents.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Adorable cupcake ghosts created by my friend Deborah.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Cheese Stick Ghosts… so clever and easy!

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween, healthy Halloween, cucumber bites, cucumber red eye,

My friend Nina prepared these wonderful and healthy cucumber eyes made with cucumber slices, cream cheese, and black olives. She sprinkled a bit of cumin for the “red”

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween, Halloween monsters, Halloween donut monsters,

These wonderful Donut Monsters were created by my friend Maureen, who is incredibly creative and no stranger to wonderful Halloween parties. Apparently, they took her no time to create.  She purchased ready-made donuts, then stuck fake teeth and skeleton arms inside them and some candy eyes. That’s it! The kids loved playing with the fake teeth afterwards and took them all home as favors.  

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Yummy and healthy pumpkin bread, prepared by my friend Dana.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

 

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

This is such a wonderful and easy Halloween dessert, created by my friend Nicole. They are witch’s brooms. Two ingredients … Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups and Pretzel sticks… you’re done!

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween , Halloween Decoration, skeleton

This skeleton appears in different parts of the house at every party. At this party, he’s hanging out in the sunroom!

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

I re-use many of my decorations at each Halloween Party. As I said, kid’s don’t care and there is really no reason for me to keep buying decorations when I have plenty stored away from my previous parties. Sometimes, I even get decorations gifted to me by other moms who’s kids may no longer be living at home. I truly believe that re-puposing and re-using, as well as borrowing is the best way to decorate for a party.

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Halloween, Halloween party, cake, Halloween cake, witch, witch's cake, witch's finger, Celebrating Halloween

Fun table place settings

Godiva Chocolate Delicious and EASY S’Mores Bar!

August 29th, 2018

I forgot to post this oldie but goodie on my blog.  A few years ago I did a fun segment on Better Kansas City on how to create a delicious and easy S’Mores Bar.  This idea is super simple and requires very little prep.  Prior to my party, I created my platter with the Godiva Chocolate Squares.  Then, for the “extras”,  I just prepared some sandwich bags filled with the ingredients I wanted to include inside my S’Mores and when it was time to serve, I just quickly put them into white plates and Voila…. DONE!!  We used stereos for our fire source inside the house.

S'Mores, godiva, chocolate, fall, marshmallows, platter, dessert, sweets, dessert platter,

Here’s a beautiful Godiva S’Mores Platter. Includes Godiva chocolates, graham crackers, pretzel sticks, marshmallows and more!

Fun Cake Decorating Hacks!

February 10th, 2018

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of being a regular guest on Better Kansas City.  Mother’s Day was coming up and the producer wondered what great ideas I may have to save people time and money.  I came up with three cake hacks which were easy to implement and didn’t cost a lot.  As Lisa Teachman, one of the wonderful Better Kansas City hosts,  was preparing for my interview, I was quickly assembling these cakes on set.  Believe it or not, this was my easiest assembly EVER!  Typically, I’m assembling my food and setting up to the very moment my segment is about to start.  This time, it was so easy, I had a chance to even chat a bit with some of the audience members.

My first two hacks were simple store-bought cake decorations.  For one, I used fruit.  Simply adding some fruit on top and around the cake made for a much prettier presentation than the store-bought cake decorated with sprinkles.  My second cake had fresh flowers and feather butterflies. I made sure the roses were organic and were not sprayed with any type of chemicals.  The feather butterflies were purchased at Michaels and came on a metal twine which I sterilized and inserted into the cake. None of these items are edible, but if you are having a party and you want to display your dessert, this would be a stunning way to do it.  Just remove the flowers and butterflies before you cut and serve the cake.  You can also use edible flowers, if they are available in your area.

M&M Cake , M & M Magic Waterfall Cake, cake hacks, chocolate cake, m & m magic cake

M & M Magic Waterfall Cake

For the chocolate lover, this M&M Magic Cake is super easy to create and will WOW your guests.  Just cover a pretzel stick in chocolate, roll it in M&Ms or Reeces Peanut Butter Cups, and insert it into the cake.  Arrange  candy to look like a waterfall and pool the rest around the cake.  Place the wrapper of the candy on top of the pretzel  and it will look like the candy is cascading directly from the wrapper.  Trust me, you’ll get ooooh and ahhhs from your guests.