Yes, I have been known to tag along with my Mom every where she goes, and she loves to go to Walmart. Every Monday, like clockwork she makes her Walmart grocery run, and I come along and pick up the items I need too. This past Monday as we were driving, I was saying I wanted to do some kind of edible Thanksgiving craft with my son. The craft would serve as an introduction to the holiday and somewhat explain to him what the feast represents in the simplest form. My Mom asked what I was going to make, and I told her I would probably make some type of rice krispie treat since I know that is something he will definitely eat. Sometimes a food craft is the best way for me to teach my 4 year old the joys of the holidays. That’s the exact method my Mom and Aunts taught me with.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and make this cute little craft with the kids before the feast. It also would be a fun activity for the kids to partake in after the holiday dinner. Keep them busy decorating their own dessert. 🙂

Ingredients for Thanksgiving rice krispie turkey treats:

• 3 – tablespoons butter (plus a little extra to rub on your hands)
• 1 – package (10 ounces) jet-puffed marshmallows
• 6 – cups rice krispies cereal
• frosting or royal icing
• pretzel sticks
• colorful licorice
• candy corn
• edible candy eyes

Directions:

1. In a large pot over a low flame add in butter and stir until melted.
2. Add in marshmallows.
3. Stir until completely melted. Remove from flame.
4. Stir in the rice krispie cereal in until completely coated. 
5. Butter your hands, and spray a 1/2 cup measuring cup with non stick spray.
6. Fill the measuring cup with the warm cereal mixture.
7. Shape with your hands to form a ball. Repeat till all cereal mixture is gone.
8. Place cereal balls on a baking mat or lined cookie sheet. 
9. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes.

Let’s Decorate:

First start by sliding pieces of licorice onto a pretzel stick. Leave about 1/4 of an inch at the bottom of the stick exposed. This will be the part that you stick into the rice krispie treat ball to form the feathers of the turkey.

Once all licorice feathers are in place in the back of the turkey body, it is time to work on the face. Using frosting or royal icing stick a candy corn into the front center of the ball. Then stick two candy eyes about the candy corn.

I also added two candy corn to the bottom as feet and two to the side as wings. There are no rules….. Have fun with your turkey!

Dia de Los Muertos/ Day of the Dead (Nov.2nd) is a beautiful remembrance of the departed…. I made this Caramel Chocolate Almond Rice Krispie Treat as a dedication to my Uncle Robert.  It was one of those days…. I was missing my Tio who passed away 3 years ago.  With Dia De Los Muertos/ Day of the Dead (Nov.2nd) around the corner, I decided to start building an alter in his name.  I put on his favorite song “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones and played it loud on repeat.  Choked up with tears stuck in my throat, I tried my best to belt it out and get to the rest of the song without a complete break down.  The title “Miss you” seemed perfectly appropriate.  My Tio loved Rice Krispies, he use to eat them all the time.  He also loved his caramel, so why not combine the two to make the perfect treat.  My family has always observed Dia de Los Muertos but it takes on a completely different meaning when you are honoring a close family member dearly missed.  I dedicate this recipe to him and hope that where ever he is now, he’s eating his favorite foods with his friends having the best time.

Ingredients for Caramel Almond Dia de Muertos Rice Krispies Treat:

Non-Stick cooking spray

1 – stick butter (melted) or smartbalance

6 – cups vegan marshmallows

2 – tablespoons 1/2 and 1/2 or almond milk

50 – caramel candies (plastic wrapper off)

1 – box of Rice Krispies cereal (12 oz.)

1 1/4 – cups whole almonds

I decorated my calavera with the following items:

Royal icing

sugar cookies

smarties

mini vegan marshmallows

raspberry gummies

Fruit Loops

edible metallic decorative balls

colored sprinkles

pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Spray the whole room with non-stick cooking spray. Just kidding  just spray a 9×13 pyrex glass baking dish, one pot, a big mixing bowl, and mixing utensil.  Set to the side.

1. Place the pot over a medium flame and in add butter and vegan marshmallows.  Mix until marshmallows are completely melted and smooth.
2. In an additional pot add 1/2 and 1/2 and caramel over a low flame and mix until melted and smooth.
3. Then take both mixtures and combine in a big mixing bowl.
4. Fold in the Rice Krispies and almonds along with the marshmallow caramel mixture.
5.   Press  into 9×13 sprayed pyrex dish and continue to press down to make mixture even. Allow to cool completely in pyrex.
6. Once cooled, flip over onto a cutting board.
7. Using a calavera (skeleton head) stencil made out of a piece of wax paper cut around the edges of the stencil.
8. Remove excess pieces and either eat or use later for decoration.

DECORATE:

Decorate as you wish.  Pull inspiration from my photo or anything else that makes you happy. To you and your loved ones departed or living this Dia de Muertos.

Halloween came out of nowhere for me this year.  I am known in my circle of friends as a Halloween queen…..  I always have my costume ready weeks in advance and try and make it myself.  I’m NOT the store bought kinda Halloween gal.  This year time sideswiped me and I am slightly behind on my ghoulish duties.  Over the weekend I decided it was time to play catch up…. fast.  I started by decorating the house, and getting my son’s costume in order.  Then I wanted to do a fun edible graveyard scene for my kitchen.  Well let me tell you it certainly turned into a project.  I had never made rice krispie treats and thought it would make for a good graveyard….. that’s until I started melting the vegan marshmallow.  Holy Moly!  That stuff sticks to everything.   So there I go….. I used Pam on my rice krispie treat graveyard, and it was so much easier to manage.  Don’t laugh, I had to make them twice, the first time was a complete disaster, it was like being stuck in a spider web.  Once that was settled, we built a little haunted house and let some ghost come and squat there. Gosh…. I love Halloween.  Now I’m on a roll.  The festivities in this house have not stopped.  Here’s a little play by play incase you want to make a spooky graveyard in your kitchen too!

Ingredients for graveyard rice krispie treats:

Pam non-stick cooking spray

4 – tablespoons butter

10.5 – ounces of vegan marshmallows

food coloring

5 – cups rice krispie cereal

1 – cup pretzel sticks

3/4 – cup plain m&m’s

1 – 13×9 pyrex dish

Spray pam in a large sauce pan, then place pan over a medium flame and add butter. Allow butter to melt, add vegan marshmallows and mix until completely melted.  Quickly add food coloring color of your choice ( I used red, blue and a little black to make a dark purple) to marshmallow mixture and mix until color is completely incorporated.  Now add rice krispie cereal, pretzels, and M&M’s to marshmallow mixture and mix to combine.

Take your 13×9 pyrex and spray with pam.  Then place all rice krispie cereal mixture into pyrex.  Spread with a spatula (sprayed with pam) and even it out to fit the pyrex dish.  Let cool for 1 hour and then turn it upside down and watch it plop right out onto your working surface.

Now for the fun part, you get to decorate your graveyard.  I added a haunted house to give it an extra hair raising feeling.  I used cookies and chocolate for the headstones, and ghost peeps to spook you.  I decorated the haunted house with an assortment of candy and painted the hand coming out of the grave with red food coloring.  This graveyard is going to taste as good as it looks!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

       Here’s the SCARY part, the mess this project made in the kitchen. Trick or Treat!!!!