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Planning for parties and gatherings takes so much time. Sometimes you just need a few Easy Halloween Recipes to fill out the table of delicious food for your guests.

Fruity Ghosts on a Stick

It just turns out that pears are just the right shape for making spooky ghost treats! These are an interesting alternative to the traditional candy apples.

Ingredients

• Wooden craft sticks, like for a popsicle
• 6 medium sized pears
• 10 - 12 squares of almond bark (2 ounce squares)
• Handful of mini chocolate chips for ghostly eyes
• Halloween cupcake papers

Instructions

Line a cookie sheet or other flat serving tray with waxed paper, we aren't actually putting in the oven so any moveable flat surface is good for this treat. Line up the cupcake papers across the sheet. Melt almond bark following the package directions. Poke craft sticks firmly into the pears. Dip each pear into the melted bark, you can use a spoon to help evenly coat the entire pear. Place each one in a cupcake paper, standing up as much as you can get it to. Place mini chocolate candies for face decoration. You can use any leftover almond bark to spoon ghost tails into the paper cups. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Halloween Party Mix

Ingredients

• 4 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
• 4 cups Cheerios® cereal
• 3 cups pretzel sticks
• 1 (12 ounce) can salted peanuts
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

Instructions

Get out the crock pot! Mix up the cereals, pretzels and peanuts and put in the crock pot. Combine butter, parmesan cheese and salts. Drizzle over the dry mixture and toss for coating. Put the lid on and cook on low for 3 - 4 hours. Stir at least once each hour to avoid burning.

Terrifying Tortilla Chips

Start with some flour tortillas and spray a bit of canola oil on them. Sprinkle parmesan cheese or cinnamon and sugar on them. Then cut fun shapes out of the tortillas with a bat, ghost or pumpkin cookie cutter. Put the shapes into the oven for a crispy treat.

Spooky Sandwiches

Make your favorite sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly works just fine. Then, using a cookie cutter, press hard into the sandwich and you’ll get a spooky treat. If you use a pumpkin shape cookie cutter, add licorice or candy corn to make eyes and nose on a jack-o-lantern face.

Creepy Cheese and Cold Cuts

Buy packaged cheese (the kind that you peel the plastic off). Also, buy some cold-cuts. Using a cookie cutter, make spooky shapes. Present the cheese and cold cuts on a platter as an appetizer – or have a sandwich smorgasbord and allow your guests to use the creepy cheese to make their own sandwiches.

Easy Witch's Hat Cookies

This easy-peasy recipe is fun for all to make and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 pkg fudge stripe cookies (with a hole in the center)
• 1 pkg Hershey's Kisses
• 1 pkg chocolate frosting
• 1 Tube orange icing

Instructions

1. On a sheet of wax paper, fill the center of each of the fudge stripe cookies with chocolate frosting. Place one Kiss in the frosting and you've got cute little witch's hats.
2. Add an orange ribbon or bow around the hat, by squeezing a thin line from tube of orange icing around each Kiss.
3. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour to set the frosting and icing.

These would be fun for your kids to take to school or to give to your trick-or-treaters.

Quick and Easy Halloween Chili

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups onions, chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 19oz cans red kidney beans
• 2 19 oz cans black beans
• 1 red pepper, cut in chunks
• 1 green pepper, cut in chunks
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• ¼ cup taco seasoning
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and onions and sauté until onions are translucent. Add peppers and beans, taco seasoning and spices. Sauté for a further few minutes, then add tomato sauce, tomato paste and vegetable broth. Mix well.

Simmer until the chili mixture thickens, approximately 45 minutes. Season with pepper and salt and serve with grated cheese and tortilla chips.