Guentzel: 4 spooky and fun Halloween meal ideas

Let's face it, Halloween will look different this year. But that doesn't mean that the festivities inside your house have to suffer. 2020 has given us the perfect opportunity to make some new memories -- and these spooky dinner ideas are a great way to take your celebration up a notch without too much work or worry.

All of these recipes are incredibly kid-friendly and easy to make. So pick your favorite, dim the lights and add a new level of hair-raising fun to Halloween dinner this year.

Stuffed Pepper Jack-O'-Lanterns

Looking for a sweet way to celebrate Halloween? Make your own stuffed Jack-O’-Lanterns with orange bell peppers! 

First step? Wash your peppers and then start carving your pepper the same way you would carve a pumpkin. Cut off the top and set aside. Remove the insides (the seeds & membrane, then carefully cut out the face). 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the peppers upside down with the lids next to them. Roast for 20 minutes at 350°. Roasting them upside down will help keep them tender by allowing all of the excess water to drain down onto the pan and not into the bottom of the pepper. 

After the peppers have been roasted, flip them upright and fill them with whatever floats your boat! I had some Buffalo Chicken Chili on hand so I used that to stuff the peppers and topped them off with some Blue cheese crumbles. Other ideas? Macaroni & cheese, Goulash, Broccoli Cheese Soup. 

Zombie Fingers & Witch Hair 

This one is simple. Angel hair pasta dyed with a little food coloring, chicken sausages pan-fried for fingers and a classic tomato pasta sauce to bring the whole dish together. Start by cooking the pasta per directions. While it is cooking, slice chicken sausages in half and pan fry them to get a little char on the outside (the sausages I used were cooked through to begin with). Heat up some pasta sauce.

Once the pasta is done cooking, strain the pasta in a colander and allow to cool for a minute or so. Then place pasta, a splash of water and a few drops of food coloring in a large zipper storage bag. Using your hands, massage the water and food coloring into pasta until reaching desired color. Plate pasta, pour tomato sauce over the top and place chicken sausages in the middle — like fingers reaching up from the abyss. 

Can't find black food coloring at the store? Lots of blue, green and a splash of red will give you a very creepy witch-vibe. 

Mummy Dogs

You’ve probably had Crescent Dogs before. But these Mummy Dogs are perfect for this festive holiday night!

This is a very fun and delicious way to throw together an easy Halloween dinner! Serve them up with a bunch of different dipping sauces or put them on a stick for a dinner-on-the-go!

We don’t eat a lot of hot dogs in our house — no kids! — so I used chicken & apple sausages that are fully cooked. So all I had to do was wrap up the mummies and bake them in the oven. The crescent rolls took about 11 minutes to turn golden brown (at 375°) and the sausages were cooked all the way through. 

Want to add eyes? Yellow mustard seeds are an easy addition that don’t mess with the flavor. And charring the outside of the chicken sausages on the stove before baking gives an extra level of creepy -- plus some nice added texture and taste.

Zombie Brains

Super easy and pretty gross! The perfect way to spook up Halloween. 

I used Annie’s Deluxe Rich & Creamy Shells & Aged Cheddar and followed the instructions on the box. Then after it was ready, I added blue and green food coloring to get the color I wanted.

I roasted green peppers to serve as zombie heads (about 20 minutes at 350°, top cut off and upside down on a pan so the excess water drips down) and stuffed them with the green macaroni and cheese. 

Like Lindsay’s work? Follow her recipes, blogs and videos here on Bring Me The News or on her website https://lindsayguentzel.com/. Or follow her on social media @LindsayGuentzel on Twitter and Facebook.