Halloween Dinner, Mini Meanloaves

To watch this video recipe click HERE!

To go to the Spooky Rice balls recipe go HERE!

Here is my last Halloween recipe for this year! I hope you like it! Mini BBQ Meatloaves and Spooky Rice Balls! Super easy to make and delicious!

Makes 6-8 mini 5x3 meatloaves
Ingredients:

20 oz ground meat (any kind)
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup grated onions
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce plus extra for garnish
1/2 tablespoon black pepper and salt
1/2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
5-8 5x3 mini meatloaf pans
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375ºF

Combine ground meat with the carrots and the onions,mix together and add the egg and combine thoroughly. Add the breadcrumbs a little at a time and combine until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Add 2/3 of a cup of BBQ sauce, (you can add more sauce if you feel like the meat is too dry),mix together and season with 1/2 tablespoon of each ground black pepper and salt plus 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, combine thoroughly and that's about it.

Spray your mini pans with cooking spray and fill them halfway with the meat mixture. Spoon a little more of the BBQ sauce on top, spread it evenly and bake at 375º for about 30-40 minutes or until completely cooked.

Garnish the mini loaves with a cross made of BBQ sauce

Spooky Rice Balls

To watch this video Recipe please click HERE!

Hi everyone!Today, I'm bringing you another Halloween recipe! Spooky Rice Balls, they are super easy to make and can be prepare the day before!!!

Makes 12-15 balls
Ingredients:

1 cup white rice (short-grained or sushi rice are a better option, but it does work with long grain rice.)
1 cup tomato sauce
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon dry chopped onion
1 tablespoon chicken bullion
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 large Ziploc bag or plastic wrap

TO GARNISH:
Black olives
1 1/2 in. pieces green bell pepper (1 piece per ball)
1 in. pieces red bell pepper (1 piece per ball)

---OPTIONAL----
To fill the rice balls
3 slices bacon
1 sausage link
3 tablespoon minced onion

I recommend you cook the rice the day/night before.

Soak the rice in hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Saute the garlic in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for 3 minutes, or until the garlic becomes transparent. Add in the rice and season with the dry onion and the chicken bullion stir fry for about 3-4 minutes or until the rice becomes translucent.
Add in the tomato sauce, cook for about 2 minutes. Add in 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth
and 1/2 of water stir together, cover with a lid and let it cook on low heat for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

We want this rice to be really sticky, so feel free to add more liquid if needed!

OPTIONAL
---To make the filling---
In a small pan I cook the bacon and sausage for about 4 minutes or until slightly brown. Add 3 tablespoon of minced onion and season with a pinch of black pepper and crushed red pepper. Cook for 2 more minutes. Set aside to cool.


If you cooked the rice the day before, sprinkle it with 3 tablespoons of water and heat it in the microwave for about 40 seconds.



Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the rice on to the bag
spread it evenly, and top it with a about 2 teaspoons of
the filling.

Wrap everything into a ball and that's how you make your rice balls!

Continue to repeat these steps until you are done with all the rice.
 




 To garnish:
 Top the ball with a 1 1/2 inch piece of green bell pepper

Use black olive to form the eyes, (any shape you like)
(the rice is super sticky so the olive should stick to it. If they don't stick, dip the olives in water or soy sauce, and that would do the trick.)




The mouth will be a small piece of red bell pepper and that's it!

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!!

Shortbread Bloody Witch Finger Cookies

To watch this video recipe click HERE!

Makes 2 dozens.
Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 sticks unsalted butter, soften
1/2 teaspoon salt
Bakers semi sweet baking chocolate squares (4), melted (for the nails)
Almonds (for nails optional)
Strawberry preserves or marmalade for garnish

Combine flour and salt, mix well and set aside

In an electric mixer,cream the butter at medium speed, blend until smooth and creamy,
scrape down the sides if you need to. Reduce the speed and slowly add the powdered sugar
blend until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, continue to blend for 1 more minute.

Reduce the speed to the lowest and slowly add in the flour. Blend until all the ingredients come together. Do not over mix.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF


Grab about 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it with your hands to form a finger shaped cookie. If you are using almonds as finger nails, press down the almond into one end of the cookie.

 If you are making the nails with the same dough, form the nail using a toothpick.

Make the nails big and chunky, they are witch fingers, they don't have to be pretty at all.





Fingers are not straight, to give the impression of knuckles, squeeze the cookie bellow the nail, and squeeze again near the end. For a more finger-like appearance make some marks onto the cookie below the finger nail and near the end.



Bake at 350ºF for about 15-18 minutes or until slightly golden brown.

Let the cookies cool a little bit.

Melt the chocolate squares. (instructions are in the back of the package)




Using a small knife, cover the finger nails with the melted chocolate. Repeat this step until done.

Dip the end of cookie in the strawberry marmalade for a bloody presentation.

Spooky Mini Pizzas

To watch this Video Recipe click HERE!!

I got this idea from a magazine picture. however I didn't read the magazine, so I don't know what kind of ingredients/products to make this. I'm just recreating the picture I saw. I'm using ingredients I already have in my pantry-refrigerator.

Ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury refrigerated Grands Biscuits (You can use pizza dough if you prefer son)
1 Jar Prego Italian Sausage and Garlic Pasta Sauce
String Cheese (I used cheese slices cut in very thin strips)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Black olives for garnish

Preheat oven to 400ºF

Combine the olive oil with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder, mix well, and set aside.

Flatten up the biscuits,press them down with your hands, a plate or a rolling pin.
Once all the biscuits are flat, brush them with the garlic oil.
Using a fork, poke each circle to prevent them from rising. Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes just to brown them a little bit.

If they do end up rising in the oven, just press them down with a plate.

Spoon the tomato sauce over each circle. Add as much or as little as you want.

Slice the black olives in half to make the eyes. Place the eyes wherever you want them to be. Add the cheese bellow and above the eyes. Add as much cheese as you like.

And that's it, bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

*********

Another great alternative for this tomato and cheese mini pizzas is a "Mollete". A Mollete is a Spanish, (also Mexican) appetizer made with a garlicky bread topped with beans and cheese. Very simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

Pillsbury refrigerated Grands Biscuits
Seasoned oil (the one with made with the olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning)
Shredded cheese (any kind)
1 can black beans
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon of olive oil
String cheese for garnish
Black olives for garnish

Season the beans with the salt, garlic powder, dry oregano and ground cumin. Add in the Olive oil and blend until smooth. (add water if needed)

Flatten up the biscuits, just like we did for the mini pizzas, brush them with the season olive oil and poke each circle with a fork. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 400ºF for 5 minutes. Just to brown a little bit.

Spoon the bean mixture over the melted cheese and garnish with string cheese, place the cheese in a spider web design. Top the web with a whole black olive. Slice a second olive into strips to make the spider legs and that's it, bake for 10 minutes or until the beans are warm and the cheese has melted. Drizzle or brush with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!