The Trick Before Treats

What do you feed a 5-year-old before she goes out trick or treating? Eyeball Salad is time-consuming to make (so many grapes to peel). A bowl of Blood and Guts would be lovely, but do you really want to ruin the way a 5-year-old views spaghetti and red sauce?

An orange-and-black dinner, on the other hand, is fun and easy, and the kids can help. With a cookie cutter, even a 5-year-old can cut a pumpkin shape from a tortilla to make pumpkin face quesadillas. And with a butter knife, small pastry or hors d’oeuvres cutter or even a bottle cap, kids can cut out the mouth, nose and eyes of the cheesy jack-o’-lantern.

On the side, serve a carrot-and-raisin salad. It’s easy to make and it’s Halloween orange, which means kids might even eat it.

Want more orange? Serve orange punch to drink and a few pieces of candy corn as a warm-up for the loads of candy to come.

Menu

Pumpkin Face Quesadillas

Carrot-Raisin Salad

Orange Punch

Candy Corn

PUMPKIN FACE QUESADILLAS

8 flour tortillas

1/2 cup canned refried black beans

2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

Cut pumpkin shape out of each tortilla with 6-inch pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter.

Place 4 pumpkin-shaped tortillas on baking sheet. Spread 2 tablespoons refried beans on each cutout. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Top each with remaining pumpkin cutouts to make sandwich. Using butter knife or bottle caps (if kids are helping), cut pumpkin eyes and mouth out of top of each quesadilla.

Bake at 300 degrees until cheese melts, 3 to 4 minutes.

4 servings. Each serving:

526 calories; 725 mg sodium; 69 mg cholesterol; 25 grams fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 4.44 grams fiber.

CARROT-RAISIN SALAD (IT’S A SNAP)

3 cups grated carrots

1 cup raisins

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Mix carrots, raisins and mayonnaise in bowl. Chill in refrigerator at least 25 minutes.

4 servings. Each serving:

234 calories; 94 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 1.39 grams fiber.

INGREDIENTS

SHOPPING LIST

6 to 8 carrots or 2 (8-ounce) bags grated carrots

1 (1-pound) package raisins

1 (17.5-ounce) package flour tortillas (soft taco size)

3/4 pound Cheddar cheese

1 (20-ounce) bag candy corn

1 (1-gallon) bottle orange punch

STAPLES

Mayonnaise

1 (15-ounce) can refried black beans

COUNTDOWN

30 minutes before: Make carrot-and-raisin salad and put in refrigerator to chill.

10 minutes before: Cut pumpkin shapes out of tortillas. Spread tortillas with refried beans and cheese, top with tortillas, carve faces and bake quesadillas 3 to 4 minutes.

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SHORT CUTS

Carrots and cheese taste best if they’re freshly grated. But if you’re in a big hurry, buy the carrots and cheese already grated.

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COOK’S TIPS

*Use the tortilla scraps left after you’ve cut out the pumpkin shapes for baked chips. Tear them into 3/4-inch pieces, brush with oil and bake at 350 degrees until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes.

*Warm up any leftover refried black beans and add some salsa or jalepen~os and you’ve got a dip to go with your chips.

*Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters are available at most kitchenware stores this time of year. We’ve seen them everywhere from Williams-Sonoma and Bristol Farms to Pic ‘n’ Save.