Your Halloween visitors are bound to get hungry with all the broom flying, ghoul growling and grave digging activities going on.  So, scare up a batch of eats for your Halloween haunters so they have all the spook-errific energy they need to keep up their devilish doings.

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie isn’t just for Thanksgiving!  It can be a part of your spooky celebration, especially with some creative toppings.

Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can of evaporated milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  Beat the eggs lightly in a large bowl and then stir in the pumpkin and the sugar and spice mixture.  Gradually stir in the evaporated milk and then carefully pour it all into the pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes or until done.  A table knife inserted near the center should come out clean.  Cool on wire rack for a couple of hours.  Serve immediately or store in a refrigerator.

Eyeball Meatball

Eyeball Meatball Appetizers are simple to make and always a big hit at the party.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Olive slices

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the egg, water, bread crumbs, onion, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Add chunks of the ground beef and mush with your hands to combine with the mixture.  Form the mixture into little 1 inch balls and place on a pan.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until meatballs are no longer pink in center.  Garnish with olive slices and a toothpick, or serve with spaghetti (add olives before baking in that case).

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread is delicious served warm with a little whipped cream on top!

Ingredients:
3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups white sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour three 9 by 5 inch loaf pans (aluminum ones from the market work great).   Mix the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl.  In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.   Stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended.  Pour the batter evenly between the three prepared pans.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or when the top of the loaf springs back when lightly pressed.

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup will warm you up on a cold Halloween evening.

Ingredients:
6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns

Instructions:
In a large saucepan, heat the stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and the simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.  Puree the soup in small batches (about 1 cup at a time) using a blender or a food processor.  Pour the soup back into the pan and then bring it to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered.  Stir in heavy cream and then pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are a great reward after having worked so hard on your scary jack-o-lantern.

Rinse off your pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out all the pulp and strings. (Do this right after you've removed the seeds from the pumpkin, while they are still moist.)

Spread the pumpkin seeds out in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet while stirring to coat.  You could use a non-stick cooking spray if you prefer.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Sprinkle with salt and bake for about 25 minutes until toasted.  Check on seeds every 10 minutes, stirring as needed.  Let the seeds cool and then store them in an air tight container.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins are tasty little snacks that can be baked as full sized muffins or as smaller snack muffins. 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 lb. can pumpkin
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Beat together well for about 5 minutes and then pour into cupcake pans and bake for 20 minutes.  You can use cupcake liners if you like and remember not to fill more than halfway because they will rise to the top when baked.