Chicken Pot Pie Skulls

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Spooky scary skeletons send shivers down your spine (as the song goes), and so this Halloween, we made a memorable dinner using our skull baking mold and YOU can too! READ ON for full recipe plus tips and tricks you and the kids will love!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Ready-made pie crust OR croissant roll dough (at room temperature)
• cooked chicken (about 1 cup)
• frozen veggies (about 1 cup)
• can of cream of chicken soup + can of either mushroom or potato cream soup
• Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder (a few dashes of each – taste to see how you like it)
• skull baking pan

TIP If you are opting for the crescent dough, try to get the dough sheets which don’t have the perforation like the crescent rolls do

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 375

Shred the cooked chicken TIP use rotisserie chicken to save time

Leave dough aside (needs to be room temperature to be able to mold it later). Add all ingredients including the shredded chicken to a bowl and mix well.

Spray cooking oil onto skull platter. TIP do this in dishwasher to minimize mess and avoid cleanup. 

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Press dough onto skull. It’s ok to have leftover spilling out to the sides-just make sure all of the skull is covered for now. 

Spoon in about a 1/2 cup of the filling mixture into all skulls. Fill to top.

 

Wrap leftover dough over top and add in extra dough to fully cover the skull backs.  It’s ok if it doesn’t look perfect (it won’t).  But nobody will see the backs.  It’s just important that it is properly sealed/covered in order to prevent leaks.

Bake for about 30 minutes

TIP for an extra spooky look, have the kids help carve out the eyes and mouth. Add in colorful, cooked veggies into the eyes for a more dramatic effect

Lastly, play the song, “spooky scary skeleton” and serve dinner!

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• Click here for 8 easy kid’s halloween costume ideas you can prepare last minute. 
• Click here for 6 healthier halloween snack ideas.
• Click here for all the details from the Haute Halloween (kiddie bash) I threw at Gymboree with 6 sponsors.

Hauntoween Review and Top Tips

We love celebrating Halloween-do you? We kicked it off this season with a media preview of Hauntoween (in Hidden Hills, CA). And WOW was it spooktacular! If you follow us on Instagram, you know we are crazy about going to ALL the popups, so trust us when we say this one is GOOD. In fact, I dare say it was the perfect, family-friendly, way to celebrate Halloween. This interactive environment was created by Experiential Supply Co who also created the hugely popular, equally instaworthy and eye-popping, “Sugar Rush” popup years ago in the same location. If you’re familiar with that popup, you’ll understandingly be so excited to experience the same level of grandiose displays and over-the-top thematic environment again!

📍 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA (where these pics were from)

📍101 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel, NJ (They also have another NJ location)

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

• over 200,000 sq. ft. of incredibly decorated, outdoor space, with wow-worthy halloween installations everywhere you look

• Picturesque photo opps (and I mean, Disney style sets) at every corner

• Theatrical moments with roaming costumed actors (they’re not there to scare you but rather make you laugh and smile)

• Complimentary face-painting! And hair color spraying! See important tip below on that!

• Bubbling cauldron science experiments

• Halloween sand art necklace making 
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• Green screen, broomstick flying special effects

• A pumpkin: shaped bouncy house, patch and carving station 

• Free rides including: a merry go round, a kiddie car ride, and a mini coaster

• Food trucks, and alcohol + treat stations (purchase at an additional price)

• Carnival games, a hay stack mountain, and glow-in-the-dark neighborhoods

• Trick-or-treating throughout!

INSIDER TIPS!

• Buy tickets as far in advance as you can to ensure you get the dates you want and they don’t have on-site ticket purchasing options.  tickets start at $40 and are all- inclusive of the rides, games, activities, green screens , trick or treating, and face +hair painting. WORTH IT!
• Parking is free and easily accessible as this (HIdden Hills) venue is at a mall.  Park off the entrance at Erwin otherwise you’ll have to trek all around the massive popup to find the entrance.  
• We stayed for a full 3 hours to fully take advantage of ALL the activations, eat and to get all the photo opps but most people would only need about an hour or a little more.  
• 
• Children under 2 are free.  And it is super family-friendly event where you don’t have to worry about it being too scary and there is lots of entertainment for the littles!  It is also stroller-friendly.
• Food and drink including alcoholic beverages are available on site but ONLY with cards, not cash.  There are food trucks and picnic tables at the end of the experience and drink and treat vendors throughout.
• FIND THE FACE PAINTING station FIRST!  That way, all your pictures throughout has you in full costume.  We unfortunately only found the face painting booth at the end of the night so I am here to alert everyone that it is available and complimentary with your ticket purchase.  They have a couple experts on-site to help transform your costume to the next level. Take advantage!  The one at the Hidden Hills venue was easily missed as it is behind the vintage cop car and beside the happy parents area.  You are able to backtrack your steps at this popup (unlike many others in NYC where you are only allowed to traverse in one direction).  So don’t worry about having to skip some displays on the way there.  You can always retrace your steps and head back to whatever you missed after your face is painted. 
• The most Instagramable spot is the pumpkin tunnel.  I suggest you head there immediately after getting your face painted in order to hopefully get there before all the crowds do.  You’ll have better light to shoot with at the earlier part of the period too resulting in more photos without extraneous people, and better lit shots. 
• If you have kids that you want to photograph, make sure to entice them with the reward of endless rides (which are included in your experience).  Get all your important photo opps done first, and then reward them with the time of their lives at the end of the path where all the rides, games and food trucks are.
• There are porta potty booths throughout in case of emergency but I highly recommend you remember to use the bathroom before arriving as these are never ideal.
• Pets are allowed so if you bring them, make sure to get them in costume!

See my Instagram reels here and here to see more!

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