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Monday, October 19, 2015

October 19: Monster Eyeballs & Bloody Brains


I've been on my feet cooking and baking and stirring and dipping all afternoon (and the dishes! oh MAN the dishes!) and all I want to do now is go to bed! (Yes, it's 7:10 in the evening.)

I'm attending a fundraising event tomorrow night and had offered to bring some of my festive snacks. I made these pumpkin cookies but used chocolate chips this time, these green toes because everyone loves them, and some absolutely A-MAZ-ING Oreo fudge that I made a few weeks ago that was raved over by every single person who tasted it. Justifiably so because it really is that good. The fudge itself tastes like the Oreo cream filling and there's crushed Oreos in it and on top, too. I'd share the recipe here but it's in Sally's Candy Addiction cookbook -- you should get a copy. I have an autographed copy because I'm cool like that. Mega-fan over here!

Mmmm....great big brick of amazing!!!

Anyhoodles, after I made all the treats, I made dinner: monster eyeballs and bloody brains, also known as meatballs and spaghetti.

I found the turkey meatball eyeball recipe in the October 2015 issue of Parents magazine. I liked the sound of it because, well, ricotta! Mmm! I made a couple small tweaks and served it atop spaghetti instead of as an appetizer, but I'm a big fan of how they turned out.

Turkey Meatball Eyeballs
A tender and flavorful turkey meatball that stares back at you. Adapted from Oct 2015 Parents magazine.

Servings: about 35 meatballs (about 1.5 tablespoons each)
Active prep time: 20 minutes


Ingredients

olive oil
20 ounces 93% lean ground turkey breast (original recipe called for 1 pound)
1 heaping cup whole-milk ricotta cheese (original recipe called for just 1 cup)
1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup diced red pepper (original recipe called for thinly sliced roasted red peppers)
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs (original recipe called for just the 1/4 cup)
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
10 pimento-stuffed green olives, cut widthwise into quarters

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty foil. Grease with olive oil.

2. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except olives until combined.  Form round balls of meat (I used this medium OXO scoop) and place them 1/2 inch apart on baking sheet. Press 1 olive slice onto each ball. (I enjoyed the briny flavor of the olives on top, though, so after Halloween if I make these again, I'll probably chop some up and add them to the mix.)

3. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.

* * * * *



Here they are about to get baked. 

 They shrink a bit in the oven.

 Served atop spaghetti. 

And there you have it. I'd say more but, frankly, I'm too tired. If you need me, I'll be in bed. 

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