Fear not, make Halloween snacks in a snap

Halloween's origins, some historians say, date to the ancient Celts, who employed costumes and bonfires to help alleviate their fear of ghosts.

For modern American families, though, the more typical fear at this time of year is a time crunch. It's especially acute in parents of young children, who are likely to be juggling jobs with obtaining costumes, arranging trick-or-treat chaperones and opening the door to the little beggars.

And, since the big night is upon us, they're no doubt approaching terror status.

Somebody with a Martha Stewart schedule could spend hours intricately decorating cupcakes for the family, but most of us don't have time for that. And so, in the spirit of the season and the times, here are a pumpkin patch's worth of ideas to make the holiday a little more festive.

First, keep in mind that you can adorn a whole bunch of foods to evoke jack-o'-lanterns, which will be whimsical to adults and downright entertaining for kids. We're not talking fine art here; if you don't feel comfortable with your artistic abilities, stick to plain old triangles for the eyes and nose and a series of triangles for the mouth.

If you have cookie cutters shaped like a jack-o'-lantern, ghost, bat and/or black cat, you're practically home free. Use them to cut shapes out of slices of cheese, bread or cold meats or purchased bread, pizza or cookie dough or puff pastry and use to form sandwiches or top appropriate foods (baking the dough as directed).

Buy some butternut squash soup or tomato soup at a supermarket or takeout restaurant. Mix ½ cup sour cream with ¼ cup whipping cream and 2 teaspoons lime juice. Put a spoonful on top of the soup and spread it with a toothpick or small spatula to make ghost shapes. Or put the mixture in a small zip-top bag, snip off a bit of one corner and pipe concentric rings on top of the soup; use a toothpick to spread them into a spider web.

Cut cheese slices to resemble jack-o'-lanterns. Cook burgers on one side, top with cutout cheese slices and cook the second side of the burger, melting the cheese gently. Serve open-face.

Or use your favorite sloppy Joe recipe. Cut cheese slices into jack-o'-lantern faces and serve atop sandwiches, open-face.

Using English muffins or bagel halves for bases, make pizzas by spreading with pizza sauce. Decorate with pepperoni or vegetables cut into shapes to form jack-o'-lantern faces. Or arrange shredded cheese to form mummy faces, using olive slices peeking out for eyes. Broil lightly.

Or, use a large pizza - delivery or d'supermarket - bake, if frozen, and use olive slices, pepperoni slices and similar foods to form a large jack-o'-lantern face.

Make a hamburger or sloppy Joe pie, using refrigerated pie crusts. Cut the top sheet of dough to resemble a jack-o'-lantern face before sealing and crimping the edges.

Put a bamboo skewer, chopstick or other stick into each of 10 hot dogs. Open a can of breadsticks and separate the dough strips, then wrap one around each hot dog in a spiral fashion to resemble a mummy. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Make eyes with dots of mustard or ketchup.

Or decorate purchased cupcakes to resemble bats by adding purchased cookies and chocolate kisses. Cut the cookies in half and tuck each half into the cupcake for the bat wings; use the kiss for the bat's head.

Here are a few more recipes:

LEG BONES

2 tubes (11 ounces each) refrigerated breadsticks

3 tablespoons butter, melted

½ teaspoon seasoned salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll and separate breadsticks; tie each end into a knot. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with butter and sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with soup, stew or chili.

Makes 2 dozen.

- Recipe from Taste of Home

BLEEDING HEART BRIE

1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 round (8 ounces) brie cheese

1/3 cup cherry preserves

1 egg, lightly beaten

Assorted crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll crescent dough and divide into two squares. Seal seams and perforations. Cut off corners from each square, forming two circles; discard scraps.

Place one circle on a greased baking sheet; top with cheese. Spoon preserves over the top. Bring edges of dough up around sides of cheese. Top with remaining dough circle, pressing to seal edges. Brush top and sides with egg.

Bake 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before serving with crackers.

Serves 10.

- Recipe from Taste of Home

GHOULISH FINGERS

3 packages (8 ounces each) assorted lunchmeats

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

12 grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Roll up each slice of lunchmeat; spread a small amount of cream cheese at seam to secure roll.

Insert a tomato half at one end of each roll to resemble a fingernail, securing the tomato with a small amount of cream cheese.

Place seam-side down on a platter. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Makes about 2 dozen.

- Recipe from Taste of Home

YUMMY MUMMY MEATLOAF

Meatloaf:

1½ pounds ground beef

1 egg

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup milk

1 cup dry breadcrumbs

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

8 ounces pappardelle pasta

1 3-ounce mozzarella ball

1 can pitted large black olives

Sauce:

¾ cup ketchup

¾ cup water

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon prepared mustard

For the meatloaf, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 10-by-13-inch (or 10-inch round) baking dish. Combine the meat, egg, onion, milk, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Shape the mixture into a 10-inch round dome and place it in the baking dish.

Mix the ketchup, brown sugar and prepared mustard in a small bowl until blended. Spread the mixture over the meatloaf. Bake for 1 hour. Transfer dish to a wire rack and let rest for 20 minutes.

Cook the pappardelle according to the package directions; drain and keep warm while meatloaf rests.

For sauce, Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until bubbly and thickened, about 3 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Remove the meatloaf from the dish and place on a serving plate. Cut the mozzarella ball in half. Layer the pasta strands one by one over the meatloaf to look like a mummy's wrappings, adding each half of mozzarella topped by an olive for eyes. Surround meatloaf with more olives. Serve sauce on the side.

Serves 6.

- Recipe from Epicurious

SCARY SKILLET SHEPHERD'S PIE

1 16-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans, peas)

1 pound ground beef

1 cup beef gravy

4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

1 cup milk (divided use)

1 cup water

2 cups instant potato flakes

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook vegetables as directed on package. Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in gravy; simmer 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Microwave cream cheese and ¼ cup milk in medium bowl on high (100 percent power) for 30 seconds; beat with whisk until blended. Gradually whisk in remaining milk and water. Microwave 2½ minutes or until hot, stirring after each minute. Stir in potato flakes and Parmesan until blended. Spoon into resealable plastic bag; cut one corner off bottom of bag.

Remove 12 peas from mixed vegetables; stir remaining vegetables into meat mixture in skillet. Squeeze potato mixture into 6 mounds on meat mixture to resemble ghosts. Add 2 of the reserved peas to each for the eyes.

Serves 6.

- Recipe from Kraft

SCARY PUDDING CUPS

1 square semisweet chocolate

2 cups cold milk

6 drops green food coloring

1 package (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding

8 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

Melt chocolate in microwave as directed on package. Use a clean small paintbrush to paint a monster face on the inside of each of four clear 5-ounce plastic cups with the melted chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Add milk and food coloring to dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes, or until well blended. Immediately pour into prepared cups.

Top with the cookie crumbs. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Store any leftover desserts in refrigerator.

Serves 4.

- Recipe from Kraft

BOO-TIFUL GELATIN CUPS

¾ cup boiling water

1 3-ounce package orange-flavored gelatin

2 cups ice cubes

2/3 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed (divided use)

8 miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Add boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 minutes, until completely dissolved. Add ice; stir 3 to 5 minutes, or until gelatin is thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Whisk in 1/3 cup topping until blended. Pour into four dessert dishes. Refrigerate 30 minutes, or until firm.

Drop remaining topping by spoonfuls onto desserts to resemble ghosts. Add chocolate chips for the eyes.

Serves 4.

- Recipe from Kraft

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.