Fruit Filled Jack 'O Lantern Oranges

I think these jack 'o lantern oranges are the cutest things ever! This type of Halloween-inspired treat makes me super excited for littles during the holiday season! Husband agrees with me. While this isn't so much a recipe as it is an idea, I couldn't not share. I think these would be great at a Halloween party filled with fruit or a dip and they would certainly be super festive and fun for children. 

I will be using this concept on orange peppers, cutting off the top, hollowing them out, then 'carving' a jack 'o lantern face into one of its sides for my Halloween party tomorrow. I will be filling mine with a spinach dip (I'll be sharing the recipe) instead of fruit. Any circular fruit or vegetable could have this type of treatment done to it, and the filling ideas are endless! 

• What You'll Need
• Naval oranges (as many as you like)
• Fruit for filling

• What You'll Do
• Cut off the very top of the orange.
• With a knife, go along the very inside of the orange. 
• Scoop out the fruit part of the orange (I used a grapefruit spoon for this part.) 
• Next carve out a jack 'o lantern face.
• Fill with fruit.

For more Halloween food ideas and recipes, click HERE.

Vanilla, Chocolate, & Caramel Dipped Apples

These dipped apples were SO much fun to make! Plus, you can let your creative genius go to work as you pick the toppings and dipping sauces. I stayed more classic with my choices and really loved how they turned out. These are a great pop of color and would perfect for a sweet treat at a Halloween party or after dinner. 

This would also be a fun way to get your children involved in the kitchen, getting them to help you make these super tasty apple treats. Or host a cooking night at your house with your friends, setting a spread out on your counters and chatting while you put them together!

• What You'll Need
• Vanilla Bark
• Chocolate chips of your choice (milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate)
• Caramel sauce or caramel candies
• Chopped walnuts
• Slice almonds
• Sprinkles
• Old-fashioned oats

• What You'll Do
• Divide your dipping sauce choices into individual bowls. Melt them in them in the microwave, adding a splash of milk to the chocolate chips and a splash of water to caramel candies. (The vanilla bark will melt fine on it's own, but if you want you could add a splash of milk).
• I used an apple slicer to split my apples into these slices, and I also left the peel on, washing it well beforehand.
• Dip the apple slices into the dipping sauces then into the toppings of your choice. You can mix and match here with sauce flavors and toppings. The options are endless!
• Once you have decorated all of your apple slices, put them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Then enjoy!

Three-Flavored Baked Pumpkin Seeds

Husband and I have a million and one pumpkins to carve because of my pumpkin frenzy. Okay, more like 6, but that's more pumpkins than I've ever had to carve. And I kind of love it. I also love that we have SO many seeds coming from those pumpkins. Around our house, we like to bake our seeds with different seasonings, trying out new flavors.

So last night I hit the kitchen with our seeds from just one pumpkin. And I opted to make three different flavors: salted, cinnamon sugar, and garlic chili. This recipe is going to be a little different for two reasons. First because there are technically three recipes here instead of the usual one. And secondly because I don't have measurements for these, I went solely on how I thought it would taste and added the seasonings freely. Don't let that deter you though; this is SO easy! 

• What You'll Need
• Fresh pumpkin seeds
• Butter (for this amount of seeds out of a medium pumpkin, I needed a tablespoon worth)
• Salt
• Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Garlic Salt
• Chili Powder
• Cumin

• What You'll Do
• In a bowl, melt the better. Then toss all of the seeds into the melted butter. Stir, coating all of the seeds well. 
• Then divide the seeds up into three bowls. 
• In the first bowl just salt to taste. Mix well.
• In the second bowl add cinnamon and sugar (more sugar than cinnamon). Mix well.
• In the third bowl add garlic salt, chili powder, a light sprinkling of cumin, and a bit of salt. Mix well.
• On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet lay out the flavored seeds in rows. Making sure the seeds don't lay on top of each other. 
• Bake at 450° for 25 minutes or until the seeds become crispy. 

Taco Pinwheels

This is another recipe that takes me straight back to childhood. My mom has been making these for as long as I can remember. They're super simple, take little effort, but taste like you were in the kitchen all day long. These are the perfect bite-size additions to any gathering and tailgate. They pack a little spicy punch and a wonderful combination of flavors.

• What You'll Need
• Flour Tortillas
• 1 block of cream cheese
• Diced jalapeño peppers (you can find these in a jar already diced)
• Mild taco seasoning

• What You'll Do
• On a tortilla, spread out softened cream cheese over the entire surface.
• Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the spread cream cheese. You can put as little or as much seasoning as you like. You can also pick a different level of spiciness, I just like to use mild.
• Then add the diced jalapeños, spreading them out evenly. 
• Tightly roll the tortilla up.
• Place all the rolled tortillas on a plate and cover with saran wrap. Place in the fridge for at least an hour; the more time in the fridge the better.
• Then cut each rolled tortilla into one-inch pinwheels. Serve chilled. 

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeños

Tailgating foods are sometimes the best foods, especially if you love to snack, which I do. I'm really big on having a large assortment of foods, including both sweet and salty. I also love recipes that can be served a handful of ways depending upon the crowd size. These bacon-wrapped jalapeños are one those foods that can be adjusted for taste and size. 

This particular time, we opted to keep them at their normal size in length, but they could easily be done as poppers by cutting them into halves or thirds, which would be great for a large crowd.Either way, these peppers are the perfect combination of textures and tastes, a winner for any tailgate. 

• What You'll Need
• 6 jalapeños 
• 1 block of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• dash of garlic salt
• 12 slices of bacon

• What You'll Do
• Slice the jalapeños length-wise. The scoop out all of the seeds and membranes. 
• In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and garlic salt. Stir well. 
• Stuff each jalapeño half with the mixture. Then wrap a slice of bacon around the stuffed pepper. If you are using smaller peppers,  cut the bacon slice in half before wrapping the pepper.
• Place on a tinfoil-lined baking sheet (sprayed with cooking spray) and bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.  

Baked Cinnamon Apples

It's Friday!! While I'm a bit sad to see the apple recipes go, I'm super excited to see the weekend arrive! This week of apple-inspired dishes has been a lot of fun for me to experiment with. Husband and I have so much fun concocting recipes together. It's the best, being in the kitchen, candles lit, spices, sugars, and flours atop the counters, and aromas from our baking/cooking foods filling the entire house.

I'm looking forward to sharing our Feel Good Fall recipes next week! They're good ones too! For now, some simple baked cinnamon apples, which are a perfect pair to some toast for breakfast, as a side for lunch and/or dinner, or just a snacky treat. With minimal prep work, and simple ingredients this is an easy addition to any meal.

• What You'll Need
• 8 Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 TSP cinnamon
• Dash of all spice
• Dash of cloves

• What You'll Do
• Peel and slice the apples. 
• Pour water in a saucepan and add the apples, sugar, and spices.
• Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for 30-40 minutes on low-to-medium heat (we put ours on '3').

**tip: if you want to make these for breakfast, you can do the prep work the night before. Go ahead and peel and slice the apples. Store them in an air-tight tupperware and before closing the lid, add several splashes of lemon juice to keep the apples from turning brown. Close the tupperware lid and shake so the lemon juice evenly coats the apples. The next morning you can throw them in the saucepan with the sugar and spices while you are getting ready for the day.