It's my favorite holiday! Hands down!
I love pretty much everything about Halloween. (read about it HERE...and read this one so that more of this post makes sense)
And, since I love to celebrate pretty much everything (find out why HERE), I really wanted to try to find a fitting dinner for Halloween for the family. But I wanted something not too weird, but still holiday appropriate.
As I was meal planning for the week, while prepping for a trip to the grocery store, I just needed one more meal. That one perfect Halloween meal. Because of timing & schedules, I figured something in the lazy cooker would work out best. So I had thought about recreating my Roast Beast Who Hash (recipe HERE), but was iffy on it. So I was discussing with my hubby what that Halloween dinner...
...and then I was shocked about what he said!
I'm obviously rubbing off on him when he read my mind, but twisted it:
He said, "What if we have your Who Hash, but call it Boo Hash (or something like it) with a couple small changes somehow?"
*GASP* I was so proud of him in that moment!
But he had a stipulation that it couldn't change too much...cuz he really likes the Who Hash!
So I got thinking. And here's what I came up with for a Halloween tweak to Who Hash:
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BEASTLY BOO HASH - Lazy Cooker
Ingredients:
2 lb stew meat, browned & mostly drained
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 envelope ranch seasoning mix
1 lb (apprx) purple potatoes, diced or quartered, and even a small sweet potato cut to 1 inch pieces
1/2 C cider or apple juice (I used cider)
1 beef bouillon cube
3 T worchestershire sauce
6-8 oz frozen hash browns
Directions:
Coat the lazy cooker insert with cooking spray
Brown the stew meat slightly, drain mostly, and place meat into the lazy cooker
Add the diced peppers, onion & potatoes on top of the meat
Sprinkle the contents of the onion soup mix & ranch seasoning envelopes over the veggies
Pour cider & worchestershire into the lazy cooker, then add the bouillon cube
Stir it all up, cover & cook on low for 6-8 hours...do NOT open the lid until the next step
About 1 hour before serving, add the hash browns, stir, cover the lazy cooker again, set the lazy cooker to high & allow to cook thru
When all cooked thru, stir thoroughly & serve
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Side Note:
I put the rest of the potato varieties to the side so I could boil them, mash them & color them green to make Monster Mash Potatoes!
('Monster Mash Potato', by the way, was the original title for the Bobby "Boris" Pickett hit, 'Monster Mash', based on the popular 1960's dance of the time, the Mashed Potato. A little Halloween trivia for you. You are welcome.)
I left the skins in so there would be "eyes" for the monster mash. But I would suggest mashing purple potatoes & have incredible looking, naturally colored, Monster Mash Potatoes! However, I used my Smashed [Leftover] Potatoes (recipe HERE) to make the Monster Mashed Potatoes, and just adding a few drops of green food coloring.
The Boo Hash turned out to be delicious, perfect for autumn, and bears amazing Halloween colors! Serve it up with a dark bread or roll (like pumpernickel, rye, or a sweet multigrain - we used the dark & sweet multigrain rolls). It's a hearty, warm, and filling meal before trick-or-treaters start showing up...or before you head out with your own kiddos.
You can even cook this thru the night to have for a great breakfast to start the day! You can even take it to work with you for that special food day at the office.
Have a wonderful & safe Halloween, everyone! And be sure to treat yourself to a great meal before the evening festivities start!
Happy Halloween, folks!
ENJOY!
