Date Night: Halloween Themed (OCTOBER)

This months date night is themed around HALLOWEEN of course! I decided to focus on savory foods that would also be fun to create together for date night. It'll get you in the Halloween mood, that's for sure!

Start by laying a bunch of chopped parsley all over your charcuterie board (you can also use lettuce!). I also sprinkled some mixed nuts and dried fruit on the base.

Check out all the recipes below to create your own Halloween date night board!

Vampire Float

This is a delicious drink that the whole family can enjoy! You could also add a little something, something (my choice would be RED WINE) to make it an "adult" float... lol ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• Raspberry Sherbet

• Cranberry Juice

• Ginger Ale

• Strawberry syrup

Directions:

1. Put 1 tbsp of strawberry syrup in a bowl and dip your glass in it. Let it run down your drink for a fun "vampire" look.

2. Add 1/2 cup of cranberry juice and 1.5 cups of ginger ale to your glass and stir them together.

3. Add the frozen strawberry sherbet on top and top with a little extra strawberry syrup. The drink will start to foam and it'll give this drink an even cooler look. ENJOY!

Tombstone Chicken Salad Sandwiches

So easy and so yummy. You'll love this version of my chicken salad sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• Shredded chicken, roughly 2.5-3 cups (I used 3 large cans of chicken... water drained)

• 1 cup of red grapes, sliced in half

• 1/2 a cup of chopped green onions

• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (DF option: silk plain yogurt)

• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (DF option: Hellmann's Vegan)

• Pumpernickel bread (DF option: Udi's gluten free bread is stiff enough for this recipe!)

• 1 tsp of garlic powder

• 1 tsp of onion powder

• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Start by adding your shredded chicken, green onions and grapes to a large bowl.

2. Once that's done, add the yogurt and mayonnaise.

3. Season with your onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

4. Mix it all together and add it to your bread.

5. Cut your sandwiches in half, and then cut the half in half... then set them up in your "graveyard". (Use the side you cut on the bottom and the curved side of the bread on the top to give a "tombstone" appearance.)

"Zombie Brains"- Avocado & Bacon Deviled Eggs

These will be a hit at any party!

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs, hardboiled

• 1 avocado, mashed

• 2 tbsp of green onion, FINELY CHOPPED

• 2 tbsp of mustard

• 4 tbsp of real bacon bits

• 2 tbsp of mayonnaise (DF option: Hellmann's Vegan)

• Plastic bag or piping bag

• 1 tsp fresh garlic

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut each hardboiled egg in half (horizontally) so you are cutting through the yolk evenly on both sides.

2. Take out the cooked yolks from the egg and place them in a bowl. Set the egg white shells aside so you can fill them later.

3. In the same bowl, add the mashed avocado, Dijon Mustard, green onion, bacon bits and mayonnaise and mix together thoroughly.

4. Add the mixture into a piping bag. (You can also use a plastic bag and cut a tiny whole on one bottom corner to use as a disposable piping bag!)

5. Pipe the mixture into the eggs and at the top make two zig-zag lines and one straight line down the middle to resemble "zombie brains"! (See photo for guidance)

Mozzarella Eyeballs

I'm a huge, huge, huge fan of fresh mozzarella so you better believe I decided to make these!

Ingredients:

• Fresh mozzarella pearls

• Capers

• Green olives

• Hot sauce

Directions:

1. Place the mozzarella balls on a flat surface and pat them dry using a paper towel.

2. Add a dab of hot sauce on the top of the mozzarella ball.

3. Once this is done, add a sliced green olive on the top of the hot sauce.

4. To finish, put a caper inside the olive, giving an eyeball appearance!

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

I promise you'll love this! I could eat it the entire thing by itself because it's that good!

Ingredients:

• 2 containers of cream cheese, room temperature (8 oz each) (DF option: Kite Hill Plain almond milk cream cheese)

• 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese (DF option: Daiya cheddar cheese)

• 1/4 cup of chopped green onions

• 2 cups of crushed doritos (DF option: you can use any kettle brand chips or dairy free chips for this... just crush them up)

• Crackers (DF option: wheat thins are a great choice!)

• 1 tsp of garlic powder

• 1 tsp of onion powder

• Salt and pepper

• Plastic wrap

Directions:

1. Add the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onions, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix well.

2. In a bowl add the crushed Doritos (or df chips) and roll this mixture in it, creating a ball that is covered in chips on the outside.

3. Lay out a layer of the plastic wrap and place the chip covered cheese ball in the center. Cover it up and start creating "pumpkin lines" vertically down the sides using a butter knife.

4. Place this in the fridge until it is firmed up.

5. When serving, add a pecan or almond at the top to give the look of a stem.

6. Serve with crackers!

Add everything to your charcuterie board and you're ready for your date night!