spooky spaghetti

Halloween is one of the most awaited part of the year since it is enjoyed not only by adults but by the kids as well. Halloween as it is celebrated mostly in western countries is already gaining its popularity all through out the world. It was said that Halloween in early times was observed to drive away evil spirits. Today it simply is a celebration done on the Eve of All Saint’s Day. The day is often associated with Halloween activities which include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Rats Baked in Blood

Ingredients

For the rats:

* 1-1/2 lbs. (750 g) lean ground beef
* 1/2 cup (125 mL) uncooked long grain white rice
* 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 tsp. (5 mL) salt
* uncooked spaghetti, broken into quarters
* thinly sliced raw carrots
* black peppercorns, cooked black beans

For the sauce, er, blood:

* 1 can (19-oz./796 mL) crushed or ground tomatoes
* 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) water
* 1 tbsp. (15 mL) sugar
* 1 tbsp. (30 mL) Worcestershire sauce
* 1 tsp. (5 mL) salt
* 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) black pepper

Cooking Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, onion, egg and 1 tsp. (5 mL) of the salt. Mix well.
2. Now make the rats. Using a measuring cup, scoop out 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the ground beef mixture. Form it, by hand, into a firmly packed teardrop shape — pointy on one end, rounded on the other. This is your basic rat. Place it into a 3-quart (3 liter) shallow baking dish and gently pinch in the neck area. Poke a piece of uncooked spaghetti into the larger rounded end as a tail. Repeat with the remaining ground beef mixture.
3. When all the rats are neatly placed in the baking dish, stir together the tomatoes, water, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, remaining 1 tsp. (5 mL) of salt and 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) pepper. Pour over the rats. Cover the dish with foil wrap (or a lid, if it has one) and bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for another 45 to 50 minutes, basting occasionally with sauce, or until the rice is tender and the rats are fully cooked.
4. Gently remove rats, one at a time, from the sauce and place gently on a serving platter. (Take care not to damage the tails — they’re fairly delicate.) Into each rat, insert two carrot slices as ears, peppercorns (or whatever) for eyes, and a few more broken strands of uncooked spaghetti for whiskers. Spoon sauce around the rats and serve, smiling wickedly.
This dish goes nicely with pasta or mashed potatoes.

Halloween food ideas

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Halloween Rotten cupcakes

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