Tag: Spooky

Crispy Halloween Sweet Potato Fries

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What could be more fun and festive than a Halloween pumpkin patch of your own, right on your dinner plate? These little cuties are made from sweet potatoes, baked to crispy perfection! Fun, delicious, and the perfect comfort food on a chilly Autumn day!

These little cuties are made from sweet potatoes, baked to crispy perfection!

I don’t like to share a recipe that I have not yet tweaked to near perfection, but I’m sharing this one early because it’s a Halloween recipe. At the end of the article, I will talk about how I will be changing and hopefully improving this process for next time.

So here are the basics of how to make them!

Ingredients:

  • Sweet Potatoes, the bigger the better!
  • Cooking oil. Whatever oil you prefer. I used Avocado oil.
  • Seasoning. Whatever combination of seasonings you prefer. I used 2 teaspoons of Old Bay in this recipe, but in the future, I will be using my custom “Gadzooks” seasonings instead. These would probably also be great with pumpkin-pie seasonings as well….and maybe even marshmallows for a sweet treat!
  • Cornstarch: 2 Teaspoons, (though I am not yet convinced this was necessary (more on that below.))

Instructions:

  1. Buy some nice plump sweet potatoes, the bigger the better.

2. Slice the sweet potatoes about a quarter or a third of an inch thick. A mandolin slicer is the safest and quickest way to go.

Soak the slices in water to remove the starch so that they get nice and crispy when baked.

3. Use pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters on each sweet potato slice.

4. Cut faces into the pumpkin cut-outs.

5. Toss the slices in oil, making sure to cover all slices completely. (make sure the slices are nice and dry before adding the oil. This will help them crisp better.)

6. Add Seasoning to the oil-covered slices. I suggest doing this in a plastic bag, shake and bake style.

7. Bake 425 degrees. On parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil. 15 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Don’t overcrowd your baking sheet! They need some space to get properly crispy.

That’s it! Enjoy!

Notes, Fixes, and Updates:

Slicing: This is the first spot where my plan needs some improvement. I used a mandolin slicer to do this which should be quick easy work, but it was not. The sweet potatoes were so firm that it was difficult to slice through them. Maybe pre-cooking them slightly would make this work better.

Soaking: I soaked the slices in water to remove the starch so that they would bake to crispy perfection. After scouring the internet, for tricks and tips to get sweet potatoes crispy, some sources seemed to say that the key to a crispy sweet potato is removing the starch by soaking, while other recipes claimed that the key was in adding corn starch to the seasonings. Why remove the starch and then add it back in again? I am not sure, and need to do more experimenting!

Cookie Cutter: When I used my cookie cutter on each sweet potato slice, again, the slices were so firm that this was quite difficult. I had to use my meat tenderizing rubber mallet to get the cookie cutter to cut through the slices.

Faces: When I cut faces into the pumpkin cut-outs, once again this was difficult because the raw sweet potatoes were so firm.

Oiling and Seasoning: I used Old Bay seasoning, but I am not a big fan of the celery salt in Old Bay seasoning, so I think I would change the seasonings to my custom “Gadzooks” blend of:

  • 1 tsp Oregano
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesean cheese.

Baking: I ran out of parchment paper, so I had to use aluminum foil. I think they would be better on parchment. I pulled mine from the oven 5 minutes early, but I think they would have been better and more crispy if I went the full time. Also maybe a little blast from the air fryer setting would probably help as well.

Spooktackular Halloween Cereals

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Okay, confession time. 


Before today I had never tasted Franken Berry or Boo Berry cereals! It’s crazy, right?

Well, in the midst of my quest to appreciate all the tiny everyday miracles in life, and celebrate everything, a Halloween breakfast party was born.

When we saw Count Chocula, Boo Berry and Franken Berry cereals there amongst all the Halloween goodies at Aldi at a frightfully low price, the little kid in me reached out and grabbed them and slipped them into the cart when the adult me was not looking.

I am so glad my inner child was a little miss grabby hands this time.
Even the boxes make me smile. They are so Boo-tiful.

This is one very easy way to make a new family tradition and give little ones great Halloween memories just by making a VERY easy breakfast party any time in October.

As for me, I am still learning how to use my camera, so I took pictures of all of the spooky breakfast treats in their natural habitat (our kitchen table).

Is this a phone call from a ghost?

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The audio of this clip has not been edited or manipulated in any way.

We received this message on our answering machine on a blustery day in October. We have no idea what it is or who it is from, but it is definitely the creepiest message we have ever gotten — ever.

Though there is likely a perfectly reasonable and logical explanation for this message that does not involve ghosts, goblins, Heffalumps or Woozles, it’s October — let’s get our spooky on!

Do you know what (if anything) is being said in this recording?

Happy Halloween!!

A Murder of Crows, Unkindness of Ravens

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Nevermore!

One of my favorite natural Autumn occurrences is when flocks of black birds flying south for the winter make a stop at our house. It’s always just a little bit scary, but exciting! While they are visiting,  the trees are alive with movement. The chatter of the hundreds of birds is like no other sound I have ever heard – it surrounds you.


They often swoop down in large numbers – in perfect  synchronization and cover the ground as they peck at the grass, covering it like a black carpet – swooping up and down from the trees in unison. 


But the most dramatic moment, by far is when somehow at the exact same moment every single bird decides to fly away.

The loud chattering suddenly goes silent and still and the there is a whooshing sound as they all take flight. Hundreds of them in a perfectly choreographed exit – it’s breath taking.


Somehow I always manage to be outside to see this show at least once a year and I feel very fortunate that I get front row seats to this spectacle of Autumn splendor.

This annual event definitely inspired this years Halloween decorating.

Dollar Tree sells little black birds every year for Halloween and this year I finally picked up a few. 

I could not be happier with the results. Every time I walk into the dining room and see them I am reminded of my favorite Autumn experience. 

It’s also slightly unnerving every time I rediscover their eerie presence in the house! 

Just a few of them with “creepy cloth” (a loose weave mesh cloth sold at Halloween) and the look is complete. It’s a huge impact for very little cost or effort!

The color palette  brought down to just black and burgundy with a few orange pops of color really heightens the drama and amps up the creepy factor.
Fun Facts:
A group of Crows is referred to as a ‘Murder’ of Crows.
A group of Ravens is referred to as an ‘Unkindness’ of Ravens

I’m not sure what kind of birds are inhabiting our dining room,  but the names alone make the birds a creepy addition to the Halloween decor and seeing them in the house is delightfully unsettling for this spooky time of year!