Recipe: Spaghetti and Eyeballs

This Halloween, how about cooking up some spooky spaghetti? Your kids will love it, plus it will fill their tummies with a warm, healthy meal before they set out across the neighborhood on a quest for candy.

And if Halloween evening is chaotic at your house like it is at mine, go ahead and make these the day before and reheat. That will give a chance for the blood, I mean sauce, to really soak into the noodles.

Place sliced olives on the meatballs just before serving and Voila!- you have a meal that is sure to give your little ones a scare. OK, what really gives them a scare is the thought of eating olives. But still, it’s a cute Halloween meal.

While you’re at it, you may want to whip up a batch of these cheese ghosts.

Spaghetti and Eyeballs

• 1.25 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup panko or breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (26-ounce) jar pasta sauce
• 1/2 pound spaghetti
• 1 small jar pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, onion, panko, egg, parsley, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Shape mixture into 12 meatballs.
3. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes.
4. While meatballs are cooking, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Place sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.
5. Once meatballs are done, place them in the sauce and let simmer for several minutes.
6. To serve, place spaghetti on a plate. top with meatballs and sauce, and place an olive slice atop each meatball.

Yield : 4 servings