Happy Halloween!

I love a party! I would have loved an all out Halloween party, but it's gonna be on the small side, and most of the guests will be under 16! Christina was excited that Halloween was a)on a Friday, b)on an off football weekend and c)a 65 degree night on tap!
She wanted it simple, no messy food, nothing too childish. Okay, so I didn't make ghost lollipops, sloppy joes or a bloody jello brain, (red food coloring comes out of no fabric!). She approved of sliders because everyone loves a little burger, chips and salsa and dip, s'mores (because there will be a bonfire), popcorn balls and although she doesn't know it, deviled eggs. The eggs are pretty cute, I ripped off the idea from my sister Lori who did them for her pumpkin carving party. I made the mistake of buying jumbo olives, so I had to do alot of trimming. I make a very basic deviled egg with dijon mustard, mayo, salt and pepper and dill relish. Christina saw a picture of Lori's and said NO WAY! How embarrassing, no one would eat them and they smell. Well I'm here to tell you, they are cute, yummy and everyone loves a good egg!
The popcorn balls were originally a recipe called Circus Cake. I totally morphed it. I popped a cup of popcorn, and this took 2 batches in my Whirly Pop. I tossed any unpopped kernels, of which there are very few in a Whirly Pop. After the popcorn cooled I dumped in 2 bags of 14 oz. Halloween M&Ms. Great colors! You could use only 1 bag for sure, there are a lot of them. The original recipe called for one bag of plain, one bag of peanut and a cup of peanuts. Way too much stuff for me, plus we have a peanut allergy guest. You melt a 10oz. bag of marshmallows and 4 T of butter and mix in with the popcorn and M&Ms and mix it up good. My original plan was to lay it in a 9X13 and cut into squares. I filled that pan and an 8X8. I let them harden for a few hours, and they were still too soft, so I cut them into squares as best I could and formed them into small popcorn balls. Much easier, and a throwback for me. I loved them as a kid.
I'm sure I will whip up a few more treats after I quick get the last coat of paint up in the hallway, carve 2 pumpkins and go to Costco! Gotta run, Happy Halloween! Maybe we'll get some party pics up on the next post!