Boo, kiddos and kitchen witches! 🕸️Ready to conjure up a spooky-delicious meal that will have your family howling with delight this Halloween? Here is my favorite Halloween meatloaf and Mac-n-cheese, which is just fun to make with the kiddos! Or better yet, surprise them and capture their faces when you put this on the dinner table! Let’s get cooking!
Skelly Face Meatloaf
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups diced yellow onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 (8 ounce) package brown mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 pounds lean ground beef
- ¾ cup plain dry bread crumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 onion
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 pound bacon strips
Blood Sauce:
- ¼ cup barbeque sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 dash hot sauce, or to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute diced onion, celery, mushrooms, and 1 teaspoon salt until the mixture dries out and starts to turn golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, black pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Combine remaining 2 teaspoons salt, ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, buttermilk, 2 tablespoons ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Add cooled vegetable mixture. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
- Slice 2 round sides, about 1/2-inch-thick, off the second onion for the zombie eyes. Push 1 clove into the center of each slice. Cut a 1-inch-wide section off the remaining onion and dice into chunks to form zombie teeth.
- Transfer meatloaf mixture to the prepared baking sheet and use damp hands to shape into a zombie skull shape that is 3 to 4 inches tall. Form indents to represent the eyes, nose, and mouth. Drape bacon over the face, covering most of the meatloaf. Add onion eyes and teeth. Tuck in loose ends of bacon under the sides with a spatula. Cover the onion eyes with aluminum foil to prevent browning.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees F (68 degrees C), about 1 hour.
- Stir barbeque sauce, 1/4 cup ketchup, and hot sauce together in a bowl to make the blood sauce.
Mac-o'-Lantern and Cheese Bowls
Ingredients
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
- Cut the tops off the peppers and reserve. Remove the seeds and membranes. Put the peppers and the tops in the boiling water and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Plunge the peppers into the ice bath. Once cool, remove them and use a sharp knife to carve a jack-o-lantern face into one side of each pepper.
- Return the water to a boil, add the macaroni and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain (don't rinse the pasta).
- Heat the half-and-half in a large saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Continue simmering until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Whisk in the Cheddar until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Off the heat, add the macaroni to the saucepan and stir to combine. Stir in some of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce if needed. Season with salt if needed. Let sit for 10 minutes, then divide the mac and cheese among the peppers and cap each with a pepper top.
If you make this dish, let us know how it came out! Take a pic and send it to us, and we'll feature it on our website! Happy Halloween!
