How to: Host a Haunting Halloween Bash on a Budget

It’s finally here! It’s finally here! Kitchen Concoctions’ Second Annual Week of Ghoulish Grub! I had so much fun last year creating and sharing a week’s worth of Halloween recipes that I wanted to do a repeat.

First up an article I wrote for meal planning/recipe site Food on the Table, with tips to host a Halloween party on a budget. And today’s ghoulish recipe is a good one. Full of flavor and spooky to look at, who wouldn’t want to eat some Bloody Eyeball Soup!!!!

Here are four tips to have a fun filled Halloween party on a ghostly budget:

• Decorations: Keep things simple and stick with a classic orange and black color scheme. Plates, napkins, tablecloths, balloons and streamers can be bought in these colors at a fraction of the cost of those specific Halloween decorations. Look for these items not in the seasonal isle, but where all the other colored decorations are found.

• Entertainment: Go for a pumpkin theme and play pin the nose on the pumpkin. Afterwards have children decorate small pumpkins using stickers and markers. Or, simply host a Halloween movie night and watch some kid-friendly ‘horror’ films.

• Make it a neighborhood event: To help keep costs low, organize a Halloween block party. Ask each neighbor to bring some ‘scary’ treats. After tummies are full, allow all the children to go from house to house as group trick-or-treating together.

• Ghoulish Grub: Simple party food can easily be transformed into an imaginative Halloween dish. Slice hot dogs and place in boiling water and watch them curl into ‘worms’. Add dry ice to a classic green party punch to make an instant witches brew. A few Halloween shaped cookie cutters can transform sandwiches into instant Halloween art. For dessert, top chocolate pudding cups with crushed chocolate wafer cookies. Add gummy worms and instantly you have edible ‘dirt and worms’. Other fun themed party foods is black bean chili with pumpkin corn bread or movie trail mix with pumpkin seeds, candy corn or black and orange chocolate candies.

Speaking of Halloween grub, party goers will want to gobble up this tasty but fun Bloody Eyeball Soup!

One Year Ago: Ranch Dressing
Two Years Ago: Red Bell Pepper Hummus

Bloody Eyeball Soup
by Heather of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Serves: 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 (28 ounce) cans diced Italian tomatoes
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1 ½ cup half-and-half cream
1 batch meatball eyeballs (recipe below)

In a large sauce pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Stir in tomato paste, broth, diced tomatoes and juice, and parsley. Allow soup to simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let soup cool slightly.

Working in batches, carefully puree the tomato soup mixture in a blender.

Add pureed soup back to sauce pan. Stir in half-and-half cream and heat through. Serve topped with eyeball meatballs or other toppings such as cheese or croutons.

Eyeball Meatballs
by Heather of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30-35 minutes Serves: 6

1 ½ pounds ground turkey
¾ cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
12 green olives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients, except olives, in a large bowl. Thoroughly mix together and form into 12 meatballs. After meatballs are formed, press one green olive into the top of each meatball.

Arrange meatballs in large baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through. Serve meatballs in tomato soup.