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A Healthy Halloween Party

Have a healthy Halloween with these cute pepper jack-o-lanterns.
Author: Chef Julie Yoon


Ingredients

You will need

  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1 orange bell pepper
  • Saran wrap
  • Small pairing knife

For the "Slime" (Avocado Puree Dip)

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • ½ teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper
  • Juice of ½ a lemon

For the "Sludge" (Chickpea Puree Dip)

  • One 15 ounce can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper
  • Juice of ½ a lemon
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil

For the Tortilla Bone Chips

  • Flour tortillas
  • Bone shaped cookie cutter or template cut from a notecard
  • Baking sheet
  • Nonstick spray
  • Kosher salt

Instructions

For the Pepper Jack-o-lanterns

  • With the pairing knife, carve faces out of the peppers.
  • Cut off the top of the peppers. Remove all piths and seeds. Save the tops.
  • Carefully shave off a thin layer of the bottoms of the peppers to make them level.
  • Line the inside of the peppers with saran wrap to prevent dips from coming out of the faces.
  • Fill each one with a different dip, such as bottled Ranch dressing, "Slime"- avocado puree dip, and "Sludge"- chickpea puree dip. Serve with assorted vegetables, grapes, and tortilla bone chips.

For the "Slime"

  • In a small food processor, puree all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Spoon into one of the pepper jack-o-lanterns

For the "Sludge"

  • In a small processor, puree the beans first with the salt and lemon juice. Add the olive oil and puree again until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Spoon inside one of the pepper jack-o-lanterns.

For the Tortilla Bone Chips

  • Cut out the bone shapes from the tortillas using the cookie cutter or tracing around the template with a pairing knife.
  • Spray the bottom of the baking sheet with the nonstick spray. Place bones on top in one even layer, then spray the bones again. Sprinkle very lightly and evenly with kosher salt. Do not over-salt.
  • Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 2-3 minutes, depending on how big the bones are and how hot your oven gets. Hover over the oven and check on your bones after every minute. You don't want to burn your hard work! The bones are done when the edges are golden brown and crisp. Serve with the dips.