♥Halloween Cocoa touched with Pumpkin Spice♥

When the frightful chilly weather begins blowing in, there’s nothin' better than a hot cup of cocoa to warm your bones! Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa is a perfect fit for the season. Have a cup after a romp in the leaves or before curling up to watch your favorite spooky DVD. Either way this Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa recipe will warm your autumn evenings and keep the chill at bay.

• 6 cups of whole milk
• ½ lb. of dark chocolate bits
• 1 1/2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
• oodles of whipped cream, the real stuff☺
• cinnamon and cinnamon sticks, optional
  

Heat milk to almost boiling. Place chocolate chips into mugs and add 1/4 traspoon of spices,  mixing thoroughly. Pour in hot milk and stir well with a small whisk making a little foam on the top. Load on the whip cream. Sprinkle cinnamon to taste and add a cinnamon stick for a little pizazz!

It's TRUE - NO catch - FREE TASTE OF HOME MAGAZINE to download to your computer!

It's true. It's free. NO catch! Couldn't believe my eyes, either, and now that my heart is slowing down and my breathing is not so labored at finding something that was totally honest and above board, I want to share this astounding good find with YOU!

Just click on the magazine and it will take you to a page with free Taste of Home Magazines. Great issues, too! Don't want to download, you can also read them right on the site. This is so cool! Like getting a gift on your doorstep and it wasn't even your birthday!

♥SpOOk-tAculAR SpiDer Web Cheesecake in Five Minutes or Less♥

The pictured cheesecake took less than five minutes. Isn't it wonderful when you can impress with just minutes invested? During the holidays I always try to have a cheesecake in the freezer and some garnishes in the pantry for a quick, fun and delicious dessert to offer friends with coffee or tea.

Purchase your favorite chocolate sauce and cheesecake from your local bakery or grocer. I personally recommend Sara Lee’s Pumpkin Cheesecake. Also a New York Cheesecake is spook-tacular!

Place a small portion of the chocolate sauce into a plastic baggy. Cut a very small “tip” at one end of the baggy. Starting in the center of the cheesecake, create a spiral design onto your cheesecake. Once finished, take a small knife and gently pull lines from the center of the spiral to the outer edge. Continue all around your cheesecake. Once finished add a little spider or other favorite fall decorations! Enjoy!

One pumpkin + a little time + a potted plant = A Sweet Fall Planter for Your Porch or Entry

Pumpkin planters make great fall decorations. It’s a quick and easy project that is fun and satisfying. Pumpkin planters look great in groups or by themselves. You can use them indoors or out. I like making these because they offer a little change from the standard Halloween pumpkin lining the steps to the front door. 

Generally I will buy oodles of garden mums and use those for my pumpkin planters, but if I find something else that is pretty and on sale - it's a keeper for me!

Pumpkin container gardens also make great Halloween decorations. Paint or draw a face on your pumpkin with a Sharpie. Plant grass, sage, or even a succulent to give your pumpkin planter personality and wild and crazy “hair.” 

You can use any size plant or pumpkin, just make sure that the diameter and height of the nursery pot, isn’t larger than your pumpkin. Select a fresh pumpkin that is round in shape and not too tall.

• Cut all the way around the stem end of the pumpkin a few inches down from the top with a sharp knife.

• Pierce the flesh of the pumpkin with the pointed end of the knife, following with a back-and-forth slicing motion to cut through the thick, tough skin.

• Make an opening large enough to place a flowerpot inside the cavity.

• Remove and reserve the stem-cap portion of the pumpkin.

• Scoop out the seeds and pulp from inside the pumpkin using a large spoon.

• Cut a small drainage hole near the bottom of the pumpkin.

• Place a potted chrysanthemum, indoor plant or colorful potted annual inside the cavity. If the plant sits too low, add recycled material such as crumpled aluminum foil or an upturned plastic container to raise the plant. If the plant is too high, hide the exposed portion of the pot with decorative moss or dried grass.

Display your pumpkin planter on the front porch or inside the house in a cool location away from direct sunlight. Prop the stem cap alongside the display for a casual look or discard. Remove the potted plant to water - replacing it after it has been allowed to drain for a few minutes.