Who Says You Have to "Bake" It?: Decorated Rice Krispies Treats

I saw a blog post a while back where someone purchased pre-baked cookies and decorated them.  I have also seen Little Debbies snack cakes that have been decorated in really cool ways.  Well, I have this giant box of individually wrapped Rice Krispies Treats, no ambition to make my own from scratch, and a desire to serve some decorated Rice Krispies Treats as a gift.  So, I took the short cut by using these pre-made treats that are already cut perfectly and taste so yummy!!!

First, place them on wax paper.

Next, melt a variety of colored chocolates (in an open zip lock bag for 1 minute and then in 20 minute intervals until melted).  Cut a small hole in one corner of the bag and squeeze out your design.  

Be careful not to over heat the chocolate or push to hard on the bag or it will bust!

Notice the difference in the thickness of the chocolate?
It depends on how big the whole is.  I like to start with a very small cut and then enlarge it if needed.

For the pumpkins, I spread the orange chocolate and then added the other colors.

This super cute box from the dollar store was my inspiration.

Add plastic wrap to keep it fresh and you have a super cute treat to give! 

Halloween Sweet & Salty Treat

Last year I shared a recipe for this Sweet & Salty Treat.  Over the past year I have used this recipe for a variety of seasons using the many holiday packages of M&M's.  This year I came across the idea to replace the M&M's with Candy Corn!  Of course, I added a little fall colored sprinkles for some extra decoration.  

Then I found some fun kid friendly Halloween containers at the dollar store.  They seemed pretty air tight so I filled them up with this Halloween Sweet & Salty treat.  Then my kiddos gave them to their teachers and bus drivers.  It was a big hit!!

Post Family Farm - Hudsonville, Michigan

This is one of my favorite places!  It's great for a fall outing and to pick out pumpkins.  Post Family Farm is located in Hudsonville, Michigan.  There is an entrance fee to participate in many of the activities but it is reasonable in comparison to other places we have checked out.  The first time we visited this farm was on a week night.  Everything was based on paying honestly (for the pumpkins and the play area).  This years visit was on a weekend so they had a tent set up to pay for the entrance.   We paid for the pumpkins while on the hayride.

I can't say enough about how great the donuts and cider are at this place!!!

2012 Menu options and pricing

The donuts are small but warm/fresh and soooo good!!!

The Apple Cider Slush is a must try!!!!

The wagon rides are a lot of fun and included with the entrance fee.  It will take you to the corn maze (included with the entrance fee) and to the pumpkin patch.  I really like the length of the ride.  Many I have been on are short but this one is a fun length!

We picked out our pumpkins!  These two cost us $4 (in 2012).  You can also pick a bag of gourds for a set price (I think it is $5 but we didn't purchase gourd this year).  We paid cash for the pumpkins to an employee that was in the field.  It was great to have him there to tell us the price so we could decide on it or pick another size.  During our week night visit a few years back they did not have a person in the field so we didn't know the price of the pumpkin until our return.  Of course we didn't have to buy it if the cost was too high and there are other pumpkins to pick from that are near the store and already priced.

The kids really enjoyed the hayride!

 We took advantage of the corn maze option since it was included with our admission.  The kids really enjoyed it!  Plus, it was a great time to talk about how corn grows and the different things we use corn for.

We made it out!!!

After we returned from the corn maze and hayride we checked out some other fun activities.

The pumpkin train

This made a great slide!

Rope swings

Rope maze (easy for kids to follow)

Tricycle course

There's also a play area with horse swings, tire/stump obstacle course, zip lines, and more.  My kids loved the petting area where they could feed goats and sheep.  For our weekend visit they had a lot of additional activities that were affordable like pumpkin painting and pony rides.