Delish Thursday: Have A Decadently Chocolate Halloween

Hi Friends!

Happy Halloween! Dark, cool nights, trick-or-treaters lining the streets, brightly lit pumpkins, doorbells ringing, candy bags bulging, families gathering. Oh, the joy of Halloween.

Some people like the scary side of this holiday. When they think of Halloween, they envision scary masks, creepy clowns, soul-chilling scary movies, and frightening follies.

But not me! I detest scary movies and costumes. Instead, I prefer the “sweet” side of Halloween: the children in cute costumes, the homey decorations, the big bowl of candy, and the delicious baked treats.

It wouldn’t seem like Halloween for my family if I didn’t make them some peanut-nutty Monster Toes, gooey chocolate brownies, rich, buttery sugar cookies or chocolatey Monster Stomp cookies.

So today I will share with you one of our favorites … the recipe for Monster Stomp cookies. They are easy to make but do require a waffle iron.

I leave you with this Halloween wish: When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may fun be yours on Halloween!

MONSTER STOMP COOKIES

Ingredients:
Cookie:

• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 to 4 Tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the unsweetened chocolate and butter, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Set aside.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until fluffy.
3. Slowly incorporate the melted chocolate mixture into the egg/sugar mixture.
4. Add the flour slowly.
5. Stir in the vanilla.
6. Grease or butter the waffle iron.
7. Drop spoonfuls of the cookie mixture (4 cookies worth) onto the waffle iron and cook for 1 minute.
8. Remove from the waffle iron and cool slightly.
9. For the frosting, cream the butter and vanilla.
10. Stir in the cocoa and powdered sugar.
11. Add enough milk to make a creamy, spreadable frosting.
12. Spread the frosting onto the slightly warm cookies.
13. Store in an airtight container.

Delish Thursday is a KDXU weekly feature written by local St. George culinary expert Laura Squires. Laura doesn't have a restaurant or bakery, but if you've ever tasted her food, you know that she is one of the best food artists in the world! Laura has been a resident of Southern Utah for  more than 30 years.

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Delish Thursday: Chili Time Of Year In Southern Utah

Hi Friends!

My husband is amazing! He has so many great qualities. One of those qualities being that he is not a picky eater. He will eat just about anything.

There are a few (yes, only a few) exceptions. He hates liver and onions! He despises chewy, sour candy (Unbelievable). He doesn’t particularly like plums. He can’t stand the taste or smell of split pea soup. And he really, really dislikes beans.

For this reason, I hardly ever made chili, which was disappointing because I love chili. But my sweet husband patiently grinned and bore it when I would make chili every year for Halloween (of course, it helped that I promised him we would cook up hot dogs to go with it along with a lot of side dishes).

Over the years I have worked on and modified my chili recipe and have learned to make a really good chili with lots of meat and very few beans. I think my husband can honestly tell you that now he likes chili.

In fact, last time I made it, I think he had a second serving. Now that is something to celebrate!

While we are on the subject of celebrating, this chili makes a delicious dinner for a cool Halloween night. Make a pot to share with your family and friends. It is filling, zesty and oh-so-monstrously good!

Mama’s Meat-Filled Chili

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef or 2 pounds stew meat (I actually add both!)
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed (More or less depending on if you like beans.)
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 (7 3/4 ounce) can El Pato hot tomato sauce
• 2 to 4 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• salt to taste (1 to 3 teaspoons)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 chili seasoning packets
• 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke (optional)

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef, onion and garlic together.
2. Drain and put in a slow cooker. (If you are using stew meat as well or instead, brown the stew meat with the onion and garlic and then put it in the slow cooker.)
3. Add to the slow cooker tomato paste, tomato sauces, diced tomatoes and water.
4. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the chili powder, cumin, salt (start with a teaspoon and add more to taste as the chili cooks throughout the day), brown sugar and seasoning packets.
5. Once the seasonings are mixed, stir them into the tomato/meat mixture.
6. Stir in the liquid smoke if using.
7. Cook on high for four hours or low for 6 to 7 hours.
8. Stir every 2 or 3 hours and add a small amount of salt and water if needed.
9. About an hour before you serve the chili, rinse and drain the beans and add them to the slow cooker.
10. Cook for one more hour. Serve with your favorite toppings.

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Delish Thursday: It's A Graveyard Smash With This Halloween Treat

Hi Friends!

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

Okay, I know that is a Christmas carol, but it fits for this time of year as well. Who doesn’t love Autumn?

I have to guess that your menu, like mine, changes as the temperatures get cooler. And as we flip the calendar to October it is also a fun time to make our menu a little more ghoulish. (No that is not a typo, I didn’t mean goulash, I really did mean ghoulish! Although ghoulish goulash is not a bad idea!)

I love to make Halloween treats and recipes!

Every October around this time we gather as a family and have a pumpkin painting contest. It is a great tradition that we all look forward to every year.

Our sons, daughters-in-law and grandkids all paint pumpkins and at the end of the evening there are prizes for everyone.

Part of the fun of that evening is the menu. We always have hot dogs, chili, Cheetos Bones, graveyard veggies (raw carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, etc.), Monster Stomp cookies or Monster Toe cookies ( I switch these up, or if I have time, I make both.), Graveyard Crunch and homemade root beer. The food is monstrously delightful.

This month I am going to share some of these recipes with you and encourage you to start your own family pumpkin painting traditions. Enjoy and HAPPY OCTOBER!!!

GRAVEYARD CRUNCH

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 18 (1/2 cup) servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup maple-flavored syrup
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 cups GOLDEN GRAHAMS cereal
• 1 cup dry roasted or honey roasted peanuts
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup candy corn
• 1 cup M&M’s candy (Preferably Halloween colors)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Place the syrup, butter and cinnamon in a large microwavable bowl.
3. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir until the butter is completely melted.
4. Add the cereal and peanuts; mix lightly.
5. Pour mixture onto a well-greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan and spread it out evenly.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
7. Cool completely.
8. Break into pieces and place in a large serving bowl.
9. Add marshmallows and candies.
10. Mix lightly.
11. Store in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.

* Other ideas you can add to this once the baked mixture has cooled are pretzel sticks or chocolate covered pretzels, Bugles, chocolate covered candies (raisins or peanuts), Reese's Pieces, or mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

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