Fun Halloween & Fall Day

On Monday, the kids were off from school, so we decided to have some Halloween/Fall fun. We started off with a Halloween art project. We made skeletons out of construction paper, cotton swabs, & glue. (All white swabs would be ideal, but I had this kind, so it worked for us.) ;0)

The kids laid out their pan for their skeleton by using whole & cut up cotton swabs then gluing them together. They drew a skull on white paper, and then glued that on.

They also added their own touches. Riley said his skeleton was breathing lightening.

Zach's is breathing fire:

And Lily added a moon:

After that, we played Halloween Bingo!

We played several rounds of that, and then made our Halloween treat so we could eat it while watching Hocus Pocus!!

Our treats were fruit candy corns. We needed pineapple, mandarin oranges, whip cream, and candy corn.

We put the oranges on the bottom, pineapple in the middle, and then whip cream and candy corn on top!

They were yummy!

To continue with our fall/Halloween theme, I made Tortilla Soup & apple pie. 
(recipe's to follow)

The apple pie had a cinnamon roll crust:

It was super yummy!!

It was a great day to spend together!

If you would like the recipe for the soup & pie, here they are:

Tortilla Soup
2 cups cooked & cut up chicken breasts
6-8 corn tortillas
small red pepper; chopped
small onion; chopped
1 clove garlic
1 cup crushed tomatoes
8 cups chicken broth
salt to taste
2 tsp. chopped cilantro
cheddar cheese

Cut tortillas into strips & fry in olive oil until crispy. Set aside. In the same oil, cook pepper, onion, & minced onion & cook until soft. Add crushed tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Put mixture into large pot, add chicken, cilantro, salt, fried strips, & broth. simmer for 30 minutes. 
Serve with cheddar cheese & tortilla chips. (we like to fry more strips & use those.)


Cinnamon Roll Dutch Apple Pie

For the crust
1 refrigerated pie crust roll
butter
cinnamon
sugar

For the pie
7 - 8 cups peeled & thinly sliced granny smith apples
sugar/cinnamon
1 stick butter; room temperature
1 cup flour
1 cup light brown sugar

For the icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 teaspoons milk (may need more for consistency)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400*
 
Roll out crust, spread a light layer of butter on crust, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll up and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Place pieces in pie pan sprayed with cooking spray. Gently press rolls together to make crust, making sure there are no holes.

Place apples on top of crust, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Mix butter, flour, and brown sugar in a bowl. using your fingers or a pastry cutter to mix it up into crumbles. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. If the top starts to get too brown, you can place a piece of foil on top to help it stop.

When the pie is cool, mix up the frosting:
In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, & milk. With a spoon, drizzle it over pie & serve.