Bat Wings and Eyeballs Revisited

My Little Elmo

Happy Halloween My Dear Readers!  I hope you have all been well! What are you and/or your kids going to be for Halloween?  Chef Boonie is going to be Elmo for Halloween this year! He is SO cute in his costume!  David and I went to his preschool Halloween party yesterday and it was so much fun and SO cute!
Anyway, one of my favorite Halloween dishes is Bat Wings and Eyeballs.  I have been making this recipe for several years, but this year I decided to rework my recipe.  I found that using the small mozzarella for eyeballs doesn't work all that well because they tend to melt too much.  So this year, I made meatballs and pressed olives into them before baking to resemble eyeballs.   I still used the mozzarella but mixed it in with the pasta.  This worked MUCH better.  Here's my original recipe and here's the new one!


Bat Wings and Eyeballs Revisited

Finished product
YUM!!!

• I box Farfalle (bow tie) pasta
• 1 jar (about 2 cups) tomato pasta sauce, homemade or store bought
• 1/4 cup cream cheese (I use light)
• 8 oz. small mozzarella balls 
• 1 lb. ground turkey or beef
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. dried minced onion (I like to use dried onion because I think using fresh onion for this makes the meatballs fall apart easier)
• 1 tsp. granulated garlic (same reason as the onion)
• 1 tbsp. Italian herbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small can sliced olives
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Meatball "eyeballs"

Cook Farfalle according to package directions, drain, and set aside.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a 13X9 inch baking dish for the pasta and a jelly roll pan for the meatballs (or I use my 13X9 stone and for the pasta and my small ridged baker for the meatballs).  In a medium bowl mix together the ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, minced onion, garlic, italian herbs, salt and pepper.  Form the mixture into small meatballs (about the size of a ping pong ball - I use my small scoop to form them) and place them in the jelly roll pan (or small ridged baker if you have one).  Gently press an olive slice into each to make it resemble an eyeball.  Bake meatballs about 15 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle or internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.    While meatballs are cooking, heat the tomato sauce and cream cheese over medium high heat until cream cheese is melted and the sauce is "creamy." Turn down the oven to 350 degrees after removing the meatballs.   Mix the farfalle in with the pasta and pour into the 13X9 baking dish.  Mix in the mozzarella balls.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Place meatballs on top  of the pasta and bake uncovered another 20 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and the pasta is heated through.  Enjoy! YUM!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!