Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Countdown to Halloween - Day 2 - Monster Theme

For the second day of the Countdown to Halloween, we did a Monster theme. We've done a variety of different activities and food in the past. This year, I wanted to try something new so I looked on Pinterest. I found a pin that led to How Stuff Works.

The recipe is for Monster Mouths; and it makes about six servings.


At first glance, I thought these were like manicotti or some other Italian dish. As I started making the recipe, I realized that it was more like a bacon cheeseburger in a noodle shell rather than an Italian meal. This was a pleasant surprise.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 pound ground beef
2 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices American cheese, chopped
1/2 (12-ounce) package jumbo pasta shells (about 18 shells), cooked and drained
Baby carrots, olives, red bell pepper, small pickles, and cheese slices for decoration

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 13x9-inch baking dish. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bacon; cook until onion is tender.

Add beef; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Stir in tomatoes, cheese, salt and black pepper. Spoon mixture into cooked shells; place in prepared baking dish.


Cut carrots into very thin strips. Cut small slit in each olive; poke one end of thin carrot strip into each olive for "eye." (I didn't do this - we just used green olives with pimentos in the center.)

Cut red bell pepper into fang shapes.

Slice pickle lengthwise to make tongue shape.

Cut cheese slice into zig-zag pattern for teeth.

Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until hot; remove from oven. Decorate as desired with olive eyes.


Add bell pepper fangs and/or teeth; and a pickle tongue. You could also use cheese to make teeth.


Serve immediately.


I can tell that taking photos after a long day isn't always a good idea.


But, then again, Sophia's goofy face she created kind of fit in with the theme of the day.