Zombie Eyes (Halloween Meatballs)
Description
These spooky Halloween meatballs are full of flavor and fun to make. Serve each scary meatball on a fork with spaghetti and arrange on a party platter.
Ingredients
•
1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
•
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
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1 large egg
•
2 cloves garlic, minced
•
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
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1 teaspoon dried basil
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1 teaspoon dried oregano
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1 pound lean ground beef
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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8 black olives, halved
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1 (1 ounce) stick string cheese, cut into 16 slices
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1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
Directions
1
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3
Whisk Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, parsley, basil, and oregano together in a large mixing bowl. Fold in ground beef and mix with your hands until blended. Form 16 equal-sized meatballs using a cookie scoop.
4
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer cooked meatballs to a baking sheet using tongs.
5
Bake browned meatballs in the oven for 8 minutes.
6
While meatballs bake, use a plastic straw to punch a hole through each olive half to create a circular "pupil." Use the same straw to punch a hole through the center of each string cheese slice. Insert the round olive piece inside the hole in the string cheese slice to create "eyes."
7
Remove meatballs from the oven; set aside until cool enough to handle.
8
Assemble zombie eyes by twirling a few strands of cooked spaghetti around each of 16 forks. Spear a meatball onto each fork and arrange forks on a serving platter. Spoon a dot of spaghetti sauce onto each meatball where you want to place the "eyes." Apply the olive-cheese "eye" over the sauce. Spoon remaining spaghetti sauce over the twirled spaghetti on the forks.