Easy Halloween Dinner Ideas

In our home it is a tradition every year to have a Halloween dinner. A few years ago, while waiting in line at the grocery store, I was glancing through the Halloween issue of the Pillsbury magazine. I was hooked and had to buy it, and decided to start out with some of the easy creations.

Scary Tacos are easy and fun! Just make taco meat, cut slices of cheese to look like teeth, slit the back of green olives to attach the eyes, cut slices of Roma tomatoes for tongues, and you are all set for a spooky meal!

Bread stick ghosts are a cinch to make. Buy the Pillsbury crescent roll dough, sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese, and then use sliced olives for eyes and mouths. Bake according to the dough's directions.

Creepy olive bugs are quick and fun. Use a toothpick to hold the olives together and poke in some Rosemary for the legs.

Last, but not least, one of my FAVORITE treats, a pumpkin cheese ball.

I got the recipe for this delicious cheese ball out of a Taste of Home Halloween magazine. I have used it for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, it works well for all the fall holidays and it is so yummy! The recipe actually came from Suzanne Cleveland of Georgia. It doesn’t taste like pumpkin at all, it just looks like one.

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 carton (8 ounces) spreadable chive & onion cream cheese

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 TSP paprika

½ TSP cayenne pepper

1 leafy celery rib for a stem

Assorted crackers and sliced apples

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the sharp cheddar cheese, paprika, and cayenne. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.

With a knife, add vertical lines to the cheese ball to resemble a pumpkin; insert celery rib for a stem. Serve with crackers and apples.

Check out some of the other funny scary recipes from Pillsbury HERE and Taste of Home HERE.