Description
Spooky “Bloody Baked Rats” deliver ghoulish Halloween drama straight to your dinner table. Gruesome ground meat sculpted into rodent shapes drips with crimson sauce, promising a shocking culinary experience you cannot resist.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 ounce uncooked spaghetti, broken into fourths
Cheese and Dairy:
- 1 cup cubed Cheddar cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
Seasonings and Other Ingredients:
- 1 (1.25 ounce) packet meatloaf seasoning mix
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
- ½ onion, chopped
- 3 (10 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ carrot, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
- 1 tablespoon frozen green peas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), ensuring a consistent cooking environment for the meat creation.
- Thoroughly blend ground beef, minced onion, egg, bread crumbs, and meatloaf seasoning in a large mixing bowl, using hands to integrate ingredients completely.
- Craft each rat-shaped meatloaf by encasing a cheese cube within the meat mixture, sculpting a distinctive rodent silhouette with a tapered pointed end.
- Arrange the meat sculptures in a shallow baking dish, strategically inserting an uncooked spaghetti strand into the rounded section to simulate a tail.
- Prepare a vibrant sauce by whisking together tomato sauce, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce, then generously pour over the meat rats, fully covering the dish with aluminum foil.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking for 20-30 minutes, periodically basting with the sauce to enhance moisture and flavor.
- While meatloaves complete cooking, quickly microwave peas and carrots for 15 seconds, then artfully position green peas as eerie eyes and carrot slices as distinct ears.
- Plate the meat rats, surrounding them with additional warmed tomato sauce for a ghoulishly impressive Halloween presentation.
Notes
- Customize the meat mixture by swapping ground beef with ground turkey or plant-based alternatives for healthier and vegetarian options.
- Enhance flavor profiles by adding fresh herbs like parsley or thyme into the meat mixture for extra depth and aroma.
- Use low-sodium tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce to control salt intake and create a more balanced dish for health-conscious individuals.
- Create kid-friendly versions by reducing spices and making the presentation less scary while maintaining the playful rat-shaped concept.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 65-75 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Appetizer, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 525
- Sugar: 14 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg