Halloween Happiness: Dinner Menu

I love holiday's; all of them really. I think it came from my grandma always having the house fully decorated for whatever holiday was coming next, and that carried onto me - my house is always decorated with festive nik-knacks or mantel decor. It's also a great excuse to make festive foods and try things you otherwise might not. This Halloween we carved pumpkins and watched movies while handing out candy to trick-or-treating kiddos, so I created a Halloween menu to go along with this night that was of course; all things pumpkin.


Pumpkin Pasta

This is the splurge for the night as it is most definitely not clean, but it's also much better than going out to a restaurant and ordering a similar dish.

Pumpkin Raviolis, Butternut Squash Raviolis, and Pumpkin Pasta Sauce come together to make a delicious, cozy, Fall, meal that was just what we needed.

Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Since I kept the pasta portions low I got our meat and veggies in with stuffed peppers. I began with carving the faces in each that was easier than I anticipated it being. Next whipped up the stuffing the "lazy girl way" by browning 1 lb ground chicken and chopped zucchini, draining the fat and then adding 1 jar of Fall Harvest Salsa (or pumpkin salsa), mix and let simmer then transfer to your cleaned peppers and bake at 350 for 30 mins. Delicious, healthy, and so festive.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

My whole family loves snacking before meals so I roasted seeds from the pumpkins we carved while the carving was happening and they were the perfect healthy snack for the movie night after!

Clean seeds well, like really well, then transfer to pot of boiling water and boil for 10 mins. Drain and pat seeds dry then transfer to mixing bowl and toss with olive (or avocado oil) and seasonings of your choice (I just used sea salt here). Next transfer to baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and bake for 30 mins at 10 min intervals, stirring between, and keeping an eye that none blacken. Such a delicious healthy treat to snack on!

This meal came together perfectly and with all the time consuming parts prepped the night before, it allowed me to make a beautiful meal while still enjoying the night and company. Happy Halloween everyone!