October 20th!

Todays recipe is kinda fun...

Halloween Chili
1 1/4 lb. ground goblin gizzards: (ground turkey)
1 medium eye of Cyclops (onion)
15 oz. can soft shelled beetles: (kidney beans)
28 oz. can blood of bat (V-8 juice)
1/8 t. pureed wasp (prepared mustard)
1/4 t. common dried weed (oregano)
1 dash Red tailed hawk toenails (crushed red pepper)
2 t. ground sumac blossom: (chili powder)
1 t. hemlock: (honey or sugar)
1/2 C. fresh grubs (sliced celery)
1 T. eye of Newt (pearled barley)
1 T. dried maggots (uncooked rice) Water from a stagnant pond (tap water)

Best made during the last phase of the moon, if that is not possible, just do the best you can in a softly lighted kitchen after dark.
Brown the gizzards in an iron cauldron over a fire made from the siding off of a haunted house, add chopped eye of cyclops and simmer until the pieces of eye become translucent again, add blood of bat, and soft shelled beetles, bring to a slow bubbling boil. At this time, add the common weed, maggots, toenails, sumac, grubs, hemlock, eye of newt and the pureed wasp. As it cooks you may want to adjust the consistency with pond water. You can tell it is done when the eye of newt swells and the vertical tan colored 'cats eye' appears on one side.

Note: Substitutions are in parenthesis. Leave a copy of the recipe out without the substitutions for your guests or kids to read.

Another recipe for Halloween Chili is...

1 (24-ounce) jar chunky tomato salsa

2 tablespoons chili powder, or more to taste

1/3 cup barbecue sauce or tomato ketchup

3 (16-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup water, or more if needed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups roasted sweet potatoes (see below)

1. Pour the salsa into a 4-quart slow cooker. Stir in the chili powder and ketchup. Add the black beans, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

2. Cover and slow-cook on HIGH for 3 hours or on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.

3. To serve, spoon the chili into shallow bowls and top each bowl with some of the roasted sweet potatoes. Alternately, you can add the roasted sweet potatoes to the entire pot of chili and stir gently to combine.

NOTE: To roast sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking pan. Peel two medium sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/4-inch dice. Toss lightly with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking pan. Roast until tender inside and a little browned around the edges, about 20 minutes, turning once about halfway through.

Brownlog gifts for me today are a zombie hand cup with candy, some coloring sheets, some candies, a gummy spider candy and a tin of garlic mints (they smell just like garlic).