Eyeball Meatballs Halloween Party Food

ZOMBIE EYES (HALLOWEEN MEATBALLS)

Steps:

• 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.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Whisk Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, parley, 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.
• 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.
• Bake browned meatballs in the oven for 8 minutes.
• 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.'
• Remove meatballs from oven and let cool until safe to handle.
• 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.

EYEBALL MEATBALLS: HALLOWEEN PARTY FOOD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Using a wooden spoon or your hands in a large bowl mix together beef, heavy cream, beaten egg, salt, oregano and panko bread crumbs.
• Do not pack the meat too tightly, you want to use a lighter touch so that the meatball does not get too compacted allowing for a lighter moist (versus heavy, hard) final product meatball.
• Once combined, sprinkle gouda cheese cubes over the top and mix to blend throughout the mixture.
• Form the meat into balls about the size of a golf ball.
• Cut the tops off of your olives. (See notes.) Press the olive point into the meatball to resemble eyes and place on a plate that will fit into the fridge for chilling. Repeat until all have "eyes"
• Chill for a minimum of 15 minutes to set the shape.
• If you are making ahead to use the next day or later in the day, you can make the meatballs to here. The meatballs in the raw state will need to be covered with plastic or foil if you are waiting longer than an hour to bake them.
• Place Meatballs onto a broiling pan (alternatively use a cookie rack over the top of a baking sheet.) You want the meatball fats to be able to fall to the bottom pan.
• The meatballs should be spaced 2" apart.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning the pan from front to back at the 10 minute mark to allow for even cooking.
• Allow meatballs to cool for 5-10 mins.
• While meatballs are cooling place ketchup in a sealed zip lock back. Put the ketchup in one corner of the bottom of the bag and press all of the air out and seal. Cut a small hole in the end where the ketchup is ... then pipe bloodshot eyes around the eye center of the meatball. Serve.

MEATBALL EYEBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup parsley, 1/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup pesto and the 1 lb. of ground meat.
• Mix ingredients thoroughly.
• Add fresh basil leaves and red pepper flakes to 3 cups marinara sauce. Stir.
• Cover the bottom of a baking pan with the marinara.
• Using your hands, roll 1 lb ground meat into meatballs.
• Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each meatball and place an olive in the center, forming an eyeball shape. Place olive side up in the marinara-coated pan.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.