Terrifically terrifying treats

Halloween will be here in a couple of weeks, but far more scary than that is those magazines which have started appearing... The ones that tell you how to have a stress-free Christmas (!) whilst showing you how to over-decorate your house, create themed buffets and make gift boxes decorated with semi-precious stones you've mined yourself.

But what if you're domestically challenged or just plain lazy? Here's an idea for Rice Krispie Halloween cakes which you can make in a few minutes or which kids can probably make on their own. (Unsupervised children in the kitchen always guarantees gruesome results of one sort or another.) Plus these might be the most delicious Rice Krispie cakes you have ever tasted. Let me know.

Decorated by Bea, 9 years old

Rice Krispie Halloween cakes

110g butter
110g marshmallows
110g toffees (weighed without wrappers)
140g Rice Krispies
Icing pens

Put the butter, marshmallows and toffees into a saucepan and stir over a medium-low heat until melted. Tip in the Rice Crispies and mix well, then transfer to a lined tin measuring about 22 x 32cm. Press them down firmly until the top is smooth and place in the fridge to cool. Peel off the greaseproof paper and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Decorate with icing pens or - for a more discerning palate - melted chocolate (spiders, cobwebs and witches' hats).

This made 15 - with plenty of tasty offcuts

Decorated by Alice, 9 years old

Antidote to overpriced & underwhelming restaurant food

It's half term! Cooking has taken second place to entertaining the children, and we have been eating on the hoof: Rubbish food, mean portions, and dirty, shabby premises yesterday; clean with a great view today but a big slimy slab of institutional lasagne served with naked lettuce... It all leaves a bad taste in the mouth as well as a hole in the pocket.

By contrast, I made a generous (and distinctly lo-effort) dinner for all four of us tonight for £6.75 - meatballs and pasta - comprising 250g wholemeal spaghetti (50p) and 24 meatballs (£4.00) which I cooked and drained of fat before adding one jar of Dolmio sauce £1.75). I let them simmer for about an hour, before serving with 50g grated Grana Padano (50p). Best of all, when I went to the loo afterwards there was no alien urine on the seat!

You can make it a bit healthier by adding chopped fresh tomatoes and a clove or two of crushed garlic.

In a desperate bid to use up some more apples, I also made a

Toffee Apple Ginger Pudding

Ginger sponge on a toffee-apple base

Base layer:
4 apples, peeled and sliced
A small knob of butter
A teaspoon or 2 of lemon zest (completely optional)
5 tablespoons Carnation caramel/Dulce de Leche

Sponge topping:
100g margarine or butter
100g light brown sugar
2 eggs
100g self raising flour
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger

Pre-heat the oven to 190/gas 5. Place the apples, butter and a couple of tablespoons of water in a bowl and microwave for 2-5 minutes to soften. Add the lemon zest and caramel to them and spread in the base of an ovenproof dish. Beat sugar and margarine/butter together until light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time, and fold in the flour and ginger. Spread over the apples and bake for about 40 minutes until the sponge is golden and well risen.

I didn't measure my apples as I already had a vat of cooked ones, but just spread them out in a generous layer on the bottom of the dish and stirred in the caramel. I usually use butter (favouring it as a more natural product), but used Stork today for speed and lightness of sponge.