Spooky Chex Mix

3 1/2 cups Rice Chex cereal
3 1/2 cups Corn Chex cereal
8 oz  vanilla bark or 1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups reeses pieces (10.5 oz bag)
3 oz halloween pretzels
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts

Melt vanilla bark in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until smooth (mine took about 90 seconds).  Pour over rice chex and mix until coated.  Spread rice chex onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet.  Try and spread into a single layer.  Refridgerate for 5 minutes.

Melt chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until smooth (mine took about 90 seconds).  Pour over corn chex and mix until coated.  Spread chex onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet in a single layer.  Refridgerate 15 minutes.

Break apart each chex as needed into a large bowl.  Stir in pretzels, reeses pieces, and peanuts.

Autumn Tarts

I had a bunch of mushrooms I didn't know what to do with and found this great mini-mushroom tart recipe...

Mini Mushroom Tarts

Tart dough:

2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup cold butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1 egg, slightly beaten

Sift flour and add salt to a large bowl.  Cut in butter (I grate mine with a cheese grater and then use a pastry cutter or a fork to mix with flour) until mixture is crumbly.  Stir in sour cream and slightly beaten egg.

Grease a mini muffin pan.  Form dough into 1 inch balls.  Press each ball into muffin pan, covering the bottom and sides of each cup.  Bake at 350 degress for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.

While tart cups are baking make Mushroom filling:
3/4 lb mushrooms, diced ( I used about 7 Large mushrooms)
1 bunch green onions, diced
1/4 cup butter
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup flour
1 cup whipping cream

Dice mushrooms and green onions.  Melt butter in pan on stove and sautee mushrooms and green onions.  Sprinkle with flour, salt, and pepper.  Mix together and then add cream, stirring continually while cooking on the stove.  Cook until cream thickens.  Remove from heat and spoon into baked tart shells.  Yeilds 36-40 tarts.

I also made a dessert tart today that I have previously posted:  Pear Tart.  (Sorry for the crappy picture on this one...it is really tasty and stays together better than it looks!)

Bat wreath

I had seen this wreath on eighteen25 and wanted to make one of my own...

I used a 10 inch wreath and it took about 1 hour to make total.  I did not spray paint my wreath as other sites suggest, just careful winding and didn't have any trouble keeping it covered.  I used the Pebbles bat from the Silhouette store and cut out several sizes.  I attatched the bats with glue-dots.  For ribbon I used scraps left from my Vintage Halloween Picture Banner project.  I am really happy with how it turned out overall!

linked up to:

Vintage Halloween decorations

I made this vintage halloween picture garland as well as a little pennent garland to change up my halloween decorations this year.

It was super simple and cheap...

Google Old or vintage halloween pictures.  You will get a ton of these creepy old pictures of people in their halloween costumes.  I saved a bunch and printed them out at home on photo paper all as 3x4 pictures.  I had some random ribbon on hand and picked some out that was halloween-ish, as well as a tiny skelton key I had to tie to the ends.  I used baker's twine in white for the main string, cut up the pictures and just taped them to the twine. 

For the pennent I used Diecuts with a View Halloween paper stack that came out this season. They had a sheet of paper that was printed as pennents already and I just cut that apart and strung together with twine and tape.  Sewing them together would also be easy and cute but my sewing machine wasn't out.

For the candle just glue some lace around a votive.

I bought the Witches picture canvas at Bear Lake Raspberry days a few years back.  The basic idea is pretty simple though to print a picture on fabric or canvas and then glitter spot a few things for fun.

The owl was a thrift find. 

My next addition (as seen on eighteen25 and Pinterest): 

linked up to:

Chicken and Bacon Artichoke Pasta

This is a recipe adapted from Our Best Bites.  I adapted rather than completed exactly because I needed a bigger dish and was missing some of the ingredients they used.  Please click the link to see their exact recipe.

One thing I did make exactly was their Guiltless Alfredo Sauce.

2 cups of grilled and chopped chicken breast.
1 recipe of Guiltless Alfredo Sauce.
2.5 oz package of real bacon bits (found with the salad dressing)
1 (14oz) jar (without oil) of Artichoke hearts, drained and rough chopped.
1 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
12 oz of bowtie pasta
1/2 tsp onion powder

1.  Grill chicken (2 cups is 2 breasts) and set aside to cool.  When cool cut into small 1inch pieces with kitchen shears. Sprinkle with onion powder and set aside.

2.  While chicken is cooling drain and chop artichoke hearts (I cut these with kitchen shears too) and shred Parmesan cheese for the sauce.

3.  Boil pasta in large pot and make the Guiltless Alfredo Sauce at the same time.  When sauce has thickened pasta should be ready to drain. 

4.  Drain pasta and return to large pot.  Pour in sauce.  Add chicken, bacon bits, artichoke hearts, and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spoon pasta and sauce mixture into a 9x13inch pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and grate Parmesan to taste on top of pasta.

6.  Cover with Aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browning.

Serve with bread, or if you really love Parmesan try Elise's easy breadsticks.

Bonus is that if you divide this pan into 15 servings it is only 6 Weight Watchers points a serving.
1 serving is 3/4 cup.