Halloween Jack O Lantern Meatloaf Recipes

HALLOWEEN JACK-O'-LANTERN MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine beef, bread crumbs, eggs, onion, spaghetti sauce, Parmesan cheese, and garlic salt in a large bowl. Push mixture down into the bottom of the bowl and smooth the top. Flip bowl over into a large cake pan with sides to hold drippings. Use fingers to mold a stem shape at the top and make a happy or scary pumpkin face in the meat.
• Combine spaghetti sauce and orange food coloring in a small bowl. Paint the meat loaf surface with the sauce mixture and sprinkle Italian seasoning on the stem.
• Bake in the preheated oven until inside is no longer pink, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Drain grease from cake pan or transfer loaf to a serving plate.

GREAT PUMPKIN MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Cut top from pumpkin in a zig zag design.
• Remove seeds and stringy insides.
• Place pumpkin in a baking pan; add about 1 inch of hot water.
• Cover pumpkin and pan with foil.
• Bake at 400 degrees F. for 45 minutes. (Or microwave for about 14 minutes.).
• Season inside of pumpkin with salt and pepper; brush with honey mustard (or yellow mustard and sprinkle with brown sugar).
• Combine egg, Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, ground beef and bread crumbs; mix well.
• Spoon into pumpkin shell, packing down lightly.
• Return to oven and bake, uncovered, 45 to 60 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender and the meatloaf is cooked. (The internal temperature should reach 160 degrees F.).
• You may cook the "lid" of the pumpkin along with the meatloaf, however, watch it and remove when it is cooked and still looks attractive.
• Remove and let rest for 5 -10 minutes.
• Be creative with garnishes.
• Cut into 6 wedges to serve.

HALLOWEEN JACK-O'-LANTERN BEEF PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 10 muffin cups.
• Place ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir until the meat is browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, tomato sauce, carrot, and olives, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the skillet, and cook until thickened and the carrot is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
• Working on a floured surface, separate each biscuit, and roll out into 4-inch circles. Press the circles of biscuit dough into prepared muffin cups; bake in the preheated oven until the cups are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the biscuit cups from the pan, and place onto a baking sheet.
• Cut the 10 slices of American cheese into 3-inch circles, and cut jack-o'-lantern faces into the circles with a sharp paring knife. Chop remnants of cheese, and mix into the meat mixture. Fill the biscuit cups with meat mixture, and place a cheese face on top of each.
• Return to the oven, and bake just until cheese begins to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.

JACK-O'-LANTERN STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Oil a baking dish with olive oil.
• Use a small knife to cut eyes, nose, and mouth into the flattest side of each pepper, just like a jack-o'-lantern. Cut around the seedpods and remove the tops, trimming and discarding any seeds from under the stems. Trim the white membrane from the inside of each pepper and shake out any seeds. Place in the prepared baking dish.
• Mix together ground beef, salt, pepper, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, green onions, melted butter, ketchup, Cheddar cheese, and rice in a bowl until well combined.
• Stuff mixture evenly into peppers and cover with the pepper tops. Wrap the baking dish loosely with foil and place on a sheet pan.
• Bake in the upper center of the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue baking until peppers are tender and ground beef is cooked through, 10 to 15 more minutes.
• Place stuffed peppers on a few tablespoons of warm tomato sauce. Serve immediately with more sauce on the side.

MEATLOAF STUFFED PUMPKIN

Steps:

• 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except tomato sauce. Warm and oil a 12", deep, Dutch oven.
• 2. Fill pumpkin with meat mixture and place filled pumpkin inside oven. Pour about 1 ½ c. water in oven and cover.
• 3. Bake about 1 to 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees F. until done. You can smell the flavors when done.
• 4. ***Judging temperature is an important skill that needs to be practiced when cooking with a Dutch oven. First off, use only name brands of charcoal. Once you find a brand that you like, stick with that brand. That way you become familiar with how it burns, how long the coals last, etc. When cooking in a Dutch oven, use the 2/3rds rule. The 2/3rds rule is not based on fractions of any number of coals. But, is short hand for figuring out how many coals to use for a 325o to 350o oven. Take the diameter of the oven for the bottom coals and subtract 2. So, if you have a 12" oven, take the diameter (12"), subtract 2 (10 coals). That's the 2 in the 2/3rds rule. For figuring the number of coals for the top heat, again take the diameter of the oven and add 3. So, if you have a 12" oven, take the diameter (12") and add 3 (15 coals). That's the 3 in the 2/3rds rule. This rule works for any sized oven from 8" to 16". To increase or decrease the temperature add or subtract 2 briquettes for a change of 25°. It is however, very important to know that coals should be placed around the circumference of the bottom and top of the Dutch oven so there are no hot spots and burning of food is kept to a minimum.