Halloween Monster Mouth Jumbo Shell Pasta
Pasta shells stuffed with seasoned ground beef, bacon, onion, and tomato, then decorated as Halloween monsters with olive-and-carrot eyes, bell pepper fangs, a pickle tongue, and cheese-slice teeth. The filling is a hearty, familiar main dish, and the faces are what make it a hit with kids at a Halloween table.
6 servings · 20 min prep · 5 min cook
- 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
- 18 jumbo pasta shells (cooked and drained)
- Separately
- cheese slices
- Baby carrots
- green pimento olives
- red bell pepper
- small pickles
Steps in full
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 13 x9-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, salt and pepper. Stir chopped cheese into beef mixture. Spoon mixture into cooked shells; place in prepared baking dish.
- Cut carrots into very thin strips. Cut small slit into olives; poke one end of thin carrot strips into olives for eyes. Cut red bell pepper into fang shapes. Slice pickle lengthwise into tongue shape. Cut cheese slice into zig-zag pattern for teeth.
- Bake shells 3 to 5 minutes or until shells are hot; remove from oven. Decorate as desired with olive and carrot eyes, bell pepper fangs, pickle tongue and cheese teeth. Serve immediately.
