Halloween is close and this week leans into it. Clam chowder to start, a slow cooker turkey breast that doubles as Thanksgiving practice, a cottage pie under a cheesy mashed potato top, pumpkin soup with grilled cheese on Thursday, and Halloween spaghetti with mozzarella eyeballs to finish the week.
For the bonus recipe, a Halloween graveyard dirt cake. Chocolate sheet cake layered with chocolate pudding and frosting, buried under crushed Oreo dirt, with cookie tombstones, ghost peeps and gummy worms on top. It serves twelve and it is the one everybody photographs.
Helpful Tips for This Week
- Do not drain the canned clams. That juice is most of the flavor in the clam chowder, so it goes in with the broth.
- The cottage pie ingredient list says tomato puree. That is the British name for tomato paste, so the small can is what you want.
- You can build the cottage pie a day ahead, right up to the point of baking. Keep it covered in the fridge and add ten minutes to the bake time.
- The turkey breast needs five hours, so start it before you leave in the morning. Crisp the skin under the broiler for five minutes at the end, that step is what makes it look roasted.
- Save the last of the heavy cream for the pumpkin soup. Drizzle it over each bowl and drag a toothpick through it and you have a spider web in about ten seconds.
- For the spaghetti eyeballs you need two drinking straws, one regular and one wide. The wide one cuts the olive ring, the regular one punches the pupil.
- Shred the cheddar yourself for the cottage pie and the grilled cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch and it will not melt as smoothly.
- Bake the dirt cake the day before. It has to cool completely before the pudding layer goes on, and it tastes better after a night in the fridge.
1
Monday — Creamy Clam Chowder
New England style, with chopped clams, bacon, potatoes and carrots in a milk and cream base, thickened until it coats the spoon. One pot, 50 minutes, and it serves six so there is lunch tomorrow.
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2
Tuesday — Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
A bone-in turkey breast rubbed with garlic herb butter and left alone in the slow cooker for five hours, then crisped under the broiler so the skin goes golden. It serves ten and it is the best Thanksgiving practice run you can get.
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3
Wednesday — Cottage Pie
Ground beef and vegetables in a rich gravy under a layer of cheesy mashed potatoes, baked until the top is golden and crisp at the edges. Build the whole thing the day before and bake it when you walk in.
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4
Thursday — Halloween Pumpkin Soup with Grilled Cheese
Creamy pumpkin soup spiced with smoked paprika, cinnamon and nutmeg, served with grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping. Thirty minutes start to finish, and a swirl of cream dragged with a toothpick turns every bowl into a spider web.
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5
Friday — Halloween Spaghetti
Spaghetti in a slow simmered tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella and olive eyeballs staring back at you. Vegetarian, ready in 40 minutes, and the kids will happily take over the eyeball assembly.
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6
Bonus — Halloween Graveyard Dirt Cake
Chocolate sheet cake layered with chocolate pudding and frosting, buried under crushed Oreo dirt, then decorated with cookie tombstones, candy pumpkins, ghost peeps and gummy worms. Serves twelve and it is better made a day ahead.
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Easy Serving Ideas
Keep the sides light, most of these dinners are filling on their own. Serve the chowder with oyster crackers, the turkey with gravy made from the slow cooker drippings, the cottage pie with something green, the pumpkin soup with the grilled cheese it already comes with, and the Halloween spaghetti with garlic bread.
Shopping List
This shopping list includes everything you need to make all five dinners, plus the bonus cake included in this week’s plan. Click the button below to print it and take it to the store.
Produce
- 4 yellow onions, 1 large and 3 small to medium
- 1 medium white onion
- 2 bulbs garlic, you need about 18 cloves this week
- 4 medium carrots
- 1 bunch celery, you need 4 ribs
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, 1 pound for the chowder and 2 for the cottage pie
- 1 small lemon
- 1 small package fresh thyme
- 1 small package fresh rosemary
- 1 small package fresh sage
- 1 small bunch fresh parsley
- 1 large bunch fresh basil, you need ½ cup chopped
Meat and Seafood
- 1 package bacon, you need 4 slices
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 bone-in turkey breast, about 5 ½ pounds
Dairy and Eggs
- 2 large eggs, or 1 dozen if you need to restock
- 1 pound unsalted butter, you need 4 sticks across the week
- 1 stick salted butter for the grilled cheese, you need 4 tablespoons
- 1 half gallon whole milk, you need 6 cups
- 1 (1-pint) carton heavy cream, you need 1 ¼ cups
- 1 (8-ounce) block sharp cheddar, you need 2 cups shredded, 1 cup for the cottage pie and 1 cup for the grilled cheese
- 1 small wedge Parmesan, you only need 2 tablespoons grated, plus extra for the table
- 1 (8-ounce) container fresh mozzarella ciliegine, the small pearl size
Canned and Jarred
- 2 (6.5-ounce) cans chopped clams, do not drain them, the juice goes in the chowder
- 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste, the spaghetti sauce takes 3 tablespoons and the cottage pie takes 2
- 2 (32-ounce) cartons vegetable stock, you need 4 ½ cups so one carton comes up short
- 1 (32-ounce) carton beef stock, you need 2 ½ cups
- 1 (6-ounce) can large pitted black olives, you need 8 to 10 for the eyeballs
Frozen
- 1 small bag frozen peas, you need ½ cup
Bread, Pasta and Cookies
- 1 loaf sandwich bread, you need 8 slices for the grilled cheese
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 small bag oyster crackers, for the chowder
- 1 package Oreo cookies, you need 20 for the dirt
- 1 package Milano cookies, you need 9 for the tombstones
Baking Aisle
- All-purpose flour, or the gluten free flour I use, you need about 2 cups
- 1 (8-ounce) container unsweetened cocoa powder, you need 1 ½ cups
- Granulated sugar, you need 2 cups
- 1 (2-pound) bag powdered sugar, you need 5 cups for the frosting
- Dark brown sugar, you need 1 ½ tablespoons
- 1 (3.9-ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 small jar instant coffee, you need 2 teaspoons
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cornstarch
- Pure vanilla extract
- Parchment paper
Halloween Candy Aisle
- 10 candy pumpkins
- 6 ghost peeps
- 5 gummy worms
- 1 tube black writing icing
Oils, Condiments and Spices
- Olive oil, not extra virgin
- Extra virgin olive oil, for finishing the spaghetti
- Vegetable oil, the cake takes ½ cup
- Worcestershire sauce
- Balsamic vinegar
- Italian seasoning
- Dried parsley
- Dried thyme
- Bay leaves, you need 3
- Red pepper flakes
- Smoked paprika, for the pumpkin soup
- Sweet paprika, for the turkey
- Chili powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt
- Fine salt
- Ground black pepper
Supplies
- 6-quart Dutch oven, for the chowder, the pumpkin soup and the spaghetti sauce
- Large skillet or saute pan for the cottage pie filling
- 12-inch nonstick skillet for the grilled cheese
- Grill press for the grilled cheese, or press the sandwiches with a heavy pan
- 9×13-inch casserole dish for the cottage pie
- 13×9-inch cake pan for the dirt cake
- 6 to 7-quart slow cooker
- Hand mixer, or the stand mixer I use, for the frosting
- Instant-read thermometer
- Baking tray, for crisping the turkey skin
- Box grater, for the cheddar and the Parmesan
- Two drinking straws, one regular and one wide, for cutting the eyeballs
Optional Serving Ideas
- Oyster crackers and chopped parsley on the clam chowder
- Gravy made from the slow cooker drippings with the turkey
- Peas or a side salad with the cottage pie
- A swirl of cream dragged with a toothpick on the pumpkin soup
- Garlic bread with the Halloween spaghetti
Made something from this week’s plan? Leave a 5-star rating and a quick comment on the recipe. It helps other readers decide what to cook next, and it means a lot to me. Thank you for your support!
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