The 4-H girls and I are back in the kitchen this fall, doing a unit on candy making. I came upon this new book, Ghoulish Goodies, which has a number of recipes for Halloween candies and treats.

So far we’ve made: Monster Eyeballs, Chocolate Spider Clusters, Witches’ Knuckles, Monster Cupcakes, and Chocolate Mice. For our final meeting next week, we’re making Caramel Apples. They’re having a blast!

I’ve found the recipes are easy enough for the girls to follow and make with little assistance and supervision. I particularly appreciated the instructions for how to melt chocolate in the microwave and in a double boiler. We opted to use the microwave which was a nice lead-in to my lesson on microwave safety.

The one drawback is that the girls have chocolate everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! I know the mess is par for the course when cooking with kids. But these recipes definitely call for older clothes and aprons. Yowza!

If you’re looking for a little fun in the kitchen with the kids this Halloween, check out Ghoulish Goodies.

I’ve decided to make some of the recipes I’m developing for the next book available via my Recipe of the Month Club. On the first Friday of every month, I’ll post a new recipe and remove the last one.

That’s key to remember. When the new recipe becomes available on the first Friday of every month, the previous one will come down. And it will stay down for at least a year. Probably longer. So be sure to come by and pick up the recipes you want, while they’re available.

I’m kicking off the Club with a free recipe called, Zesty Flank Steak. This recipe was originally published in our first book, The Warehouse Gourmet. It has not been published since. But Zesty Flank Steak was my top seller at Make and Take, my meal assembly business. It’s delish! And a perfect cap on the end of the grilling season.

On the first Friday of November, I’ll be posting my Lemon Blueberry Strata recipe. It will be available via PayPal for $2.99. My testers liked the Lemon Blueberry Strata so well, they asked me to create an 8×8 version to enjoy all year round! For the holidays though, I’m sticking with the large, 13×9 version. That way, if your guests don’t eat it all, there will be leftovers for you to reheat and nibble on. I like it best with Grade A maple syrup. What a treat!

Come on by the forum I’ve set up to download the free recipe. While you’re there, feel free to sign up and become a member or read the FAQ (frequently asked questions) to learn more about my Recipe of the Month Club. I’ll see you there!