Halloween Bloody Baked Rats

This is a fun, inexpensive, creepy Halloween entree that will gross out and impress your dinner guests. It is mini meatloaves baked in tomato sauce that are shaped like rats with cheese in the middle. When you cut it open, gooey cheese will come oozing out. Garnished with a spaghetti noodle tail and carrot ears, these pests are sure to be a devilishly delectable dinner.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Calories: 966 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 cup cubed Cheddar cheese
• 1 (1.25 ounce) packet meatloaf seasoning mix
• 3 (10 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 ounce uncooked spaghetti, broken into fourths
• ½ carrot, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 1 tablespoon frozen green peas

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, egg, bread crumbs, and meatloaf seasoning. Use your hands to mix until well blended. Measure out 1/3 cupfuls of the meat mixture and mold around a cube of cheese like a meatball. Shape into a point at one end and lengthen the body a bit by rolling between your hands. Place your ''rat'' into a shallow baking dish, and continue with the remaining meat. Insert pieces of uncooked spaghetti into the rounded end of the rats to make tails.

Step 3

In a medium bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the rats in the dish and cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

Step 4

Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover the dish and continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally with the sauce to glaze the rats.

Step 5

While the rats finish baking, heat the peas and carrots in a small bowl in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

Step 6

Carefully transfer the rats to a serving platter so that their delicate tails don't fall off. Press peas into the pointy end to make eyes, and insert carrot slices to make ears. Spoon some of the tomato sauce around them and serve.