# Make ahead recipe ideas?



## B Scary (Sep 8, 2007)

Does anyone have any great make ahead Halloween recipes? I am usually so busy with decorating and adding new props that all my food waits until the day before and the day of the party. I have an extra week this year with the parties on the 31st and the 1st so I was hoping to make the food ahead of time -- any ideas on things that freeze well or can that can be made ahead of time. I don't want to miss the November 1st sales!

Thanks.


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## Jezebel82 (Oct 4, 2007)

after reading through lots of food posts i see alot of people make stuff in crockpots like chili. my personal fave for halloween though is lasagna, i load it with tons of cheese and sauce and it can kinda look like guts. its also very easy to prepare. i make my own sauce but you can easily use jarred sauce and then i use the non cook noodles. they cook when you bake the lasagna, no extra boiling necessary. you can assemble it a couple days before and keep it in the fridge or weeks before and freeze it. day of the party all you have to do is stick it in the oven for about an hour. without fail the lasagna is always the first thing to get finished at my parties.


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## MichaelMyers1 (Jan 12, 2008)

Wow that sounds great! I love lasagna...would you mind sharing your recipe?


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## HalloweenQueen666 (Oct 15, 2008)

*I'm all about easy and made up ahead of time...*

Here are some of the things I do to help myself out on Party Day! I usually start a week ahead of time. 

I make my brain cheese(cheese ball) two days ahead and keep in fridge.

You can make cupcakes and freeze them, then the night before bring them out, frost and decor'.

I make witch's fingers, pretzel rods with colored chocolate on them, almond sliver for nail, up two weeks ahead of time and keep lined with waxed paper in a tight lidded container in the fridge.

Also, melted witches, a puddle of chocolate, with an oreo/chocolate covered bugle, then next to that in the puddle still, a small pretzel stick with some colored coconut...looks like a witch has melted. After those set up competely, put in airtight container and stick in fridge up to one week.

make up punch in a pitcher and keep in fridge, party time just add soda and creepy ice ring...

chili make up ahead of time and keep in fridge in crockpot bowl. 

Also, chili/cheese dip make up ahead of time and keep in container in fridge.

Goolish Guacomole' spider web, made up the night before, one layer of cream cheese mixed with salsa and on top guac then a sour cream spider web...

well there are so many more I could go on forever. But definitely make what you can before party day so you can enjoy yourself. 

I do it all alone so I know!


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## Magickbean (Dec 6, 2007)

Ohh good thread idea 
I make a lot of simple finger foods which are quick to prepare like sandwiches, devilled eggs etc but also try to use as much pre-cooked food as possible to serve cold, like quiche and mini sausages etc. I favour things I can just pop out on a plate and put my spooky labels next to 

My main issue this year is the baking...... I have some help this year with the main party food (I've recruited my OH and my mum lol) but I am alone for the baking. I need to make 3 dozen iced and decorated sugar cookies, 3 dozen decorated cupcakes and a large tray of chocolate brownies, by myself, no later than the day/night before the party. 

Does anyone know roughly how long you can bake cakes and cookies in advance without them getting stale? If I kept them in a tupperware container in the fridge or the pantry, would they keep fresh? Ideally I would love to bake things a couple of days ahead and then use the day before the party to decorate and prepare other bits and pieces. It's all so hectic when the big day arrives, isn't it?!


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

HalloweenQueen666 said:


> Here are some of the things I do to help myself out on Party Day! I usually start a week ahead of time.
> 
> I make my brain cheese(cheese ball) two days ahead and keep in fridge.
> 
> ...



Geesh I wish I had that kind of room in my fridge!

MsM


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## Britishwitch (Jan 5, 2008)

Does anyone know roughly how long you can bake cakes and cookies in advance without them getting stale? If I kept them in a tupperware container in the fridge or the pantry, would they keep fresh? Ideally I would love to bake things a couple of days ahead and then use the day before the party to decorate and prepare other bits and pieces. It's all so hectic when the big day arrives, isn't it?! [/QUOTE]


Hi Magickbean

You can def make cakes a couple of days in advance if you put them into tupperware boxes and keep them sealed. I have in the past and they have been just fine. What sort of icing though? If it is royal icing type then they should be ok,,,,but if it is crean cheese type you will have to leave that until the day as it will not stand up to being left. The sugar cookies I have made a day or two in advance too. Don't know if you have been to tesco but they were selling cookie with orange icing that I am going to add spiders webs etc to on the morning of the party. At least that way half the work is done for you. And Morrisons were doing Halloween Fondant Fancies in bright orange. Good for opeing a packet and putting on a plate without too much trouble

BW


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## Magickbean (Dec 6, 2007)

Britishwitch said:


> Hi Magickbean
> 
> You can def make cakes a couple of days in advance if you put them into tupperware boxes and keep them sealed. I have in the past and they have been just fine. What sort of icing though? If it is royal icing type then they should be ok,,,,but if it is crean cheese type you will have to leave that until the day as it will not stand up to being left. The sugar cookies I have made a day or two in advance too. Don't know if you have been to tesco but they were selling cookie with orange icing that I am going to add spiders webs etc to on the morning of the party. At least that way half the work is done for you. And Morrisons were doing Halloween Fondant Fancies in bright orange. Good for opeing a packet and putting on a plate without too much trouble
> 
> BW


Thanks BW! 

Ideally I want to do a very creamy piped butter icing, in a little swirl on top with some sprinkles. I'm hoping that I can get away with doing this the night before.. but if not, it's not too much of a hassle to do it on the morning of the party. I was thinking about buying some plain chocolate cupcakes and decorating them, so that I don't have to worry about my horrible oven burning the bottoms of my homemade ones (as it almost certainly will)


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## Britishwitch (Jan 5, 2008)

Magickbean said:


> Thanks BW!
> 
> Ideally I want to do a very creamy piped butter icing, in a little swirl on top with some sprinkles. I'm hoping that I can get away with doing this the night before.. but if not, it's not too much of a hassle to do it on the morning of the party. I was thinking about buying some plain chocolate cupcakes and decorating them, so that I don't have to worry about my horrible oven burning the bottoms of my homemade ones (as it almost certainly will)


Yep...mine does the same thing!

I have used some prepackaged creamy topping before....the one on my Graveyard cake .....I made that the day before the party and it held up just fine! If you are using brightly coloured sprinkles though, leave them till last minute as I know for certain that the colour starts to run after an hour or so!

BW


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## Gothikren (Aug 17, 2008)

my creamcheese shrimp puffs are easy to make ahead the night before the party (tho I often run out of time lol) Just mix creamcheese and mini salad shrimp :add some garlic salt if you like: and put mixture in the center of a crescent roll , wrap crescent dough around (i usually shape the dough into a ball around the shrimp mixture) put in an airtight container in the fridge the night before and bake the next day according to the crescent roll directions. 

I also make 
-popcorn balls, 
-caramel apples, 
-chili cheese dip (for the crockpot), 
-cookies (put in airtight container), 
-nacho dip (creamcheese on bottom layer, spaghetti sauce and fried hamburger on middle layer) and put in the fridge over night, the next day you just pull out of the fridge, cover the top with cheese and bake till the cheese is melted and center is warm ) I serve that with tortilla chips and even tho everyone says it looks really gross they love the taste. 
-koolaide ahead of time and prefreeze your face and hands a day or so before.
-sandwich mixes ahead also like tuna if i'm making small bat sandwiches in tuna and peanut butter and jelly. 
-cut up fruit and veggies for my tray and chill the ranch (i usually just use salad dressing it's fast and easy
-cupcakes I make a day or two ahead of time (and pray my kids don't eat them)
-pumpkin nut bread I make a day or two in advance also (you can refrigerate it and then set it out the day of to get room temp.
-pumpkin pie 
- I also make bat wings (teriyaki glazed chicken wings I fry them a couple of days ahead of time and then put in covered dish in fridge with (or without) the glaze and then the day of I put them in a large electric skillet with the glaze and heat them that way.
-tortilla sandwich rolls held togeather with toothpicks (I use tortillas put a layer of creamcheese, sandwich meats of your choice, some shredded cheese, and then roll them up place toothpicks on top to hold togeather :spaced out: and cut between the toothpicked sections) place in airtight container for a day or so, it's fast simple and can be done ahead of time my daughter loves these.

This year I'm going to make the mummy wrapped tenderloin, but not so sure I can make that one ahead of time sigh. It might have to be the day of for it. Good luck and remember to have fun

I hope this helps some.


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## gennifyr (Aug 22, 2006)

Cookies stay fresh for up to 3 months in the freezer. I've made them a month ahead (for Christmas) and freeze them easily.

I also make meringues (ghosts for Halloween) and they freeze well too.

Right now for my party I have witch finger cookies, meringue ghosts and cream cheese mints in my freezer. I still have to make cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies and fudge to put in there.


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