Monday, October 25, 2010

Halloween Recipe: Turkey Pesto Eyeballs

One cannot survive on sugary sweets alone so today I have a creepy yet delicious meal for you that is simple, healthy and the kids will love it as much as you do, I promise. I have made these turkey pesto meatballs a few times now, but it wasn't until recently that I thought of making them into eyeballs by pressing a sliced olive into it. Pretty clever huh? Not only are they spooky, but they come together within minutes and are baked rather than fried. They're done in 20 minutes, plus a little prep time. Does it get any better than that?

I found the recipe for these turkey pesto meatballs on Cassie Craves. I just love her recipes. It seems that what Cassie Craves, I also crave! I want to be invited over for dinner-- I'll bring the dessert! Anyway, back to these meatballs...they really are very good even if you don't make them into eyeballs. I couldn't even taste the olives so don't let that be a reason you don't make them. I used 99% fat free turkey and they don't have any additional fat added to them besides the oil from the pesto, but they are not dry in the least since they're baked in the sauce.

This recipe was enough to feed four people. I did find that it needed more than 2 cups of sauce though so I increased that to 3 cups, but feel free to add as much or as little as you like. Speaking of sauce, I used the Arrabbiata Sauce that was provided to me by Bertolli through the Tastemaker program at Foodbuzz. I liked it just fine but I think it could have been spicier so I added some red pepper flakes to it. Again, that's just a personal preference. Please don't wait for Halloween to make these. Make them now and make them all though out the year. They are eyeball-popping good!

Turkey Pesto Meatballs adapted from Cassie Craves

  • 1 pound lean ground turkey
  • 1/4 cup pesto
  • 1/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 cups marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place all the ingredients except marinara sauce in a bowl and using your hands, combine until everything is incorporated.

Using about 1 tablespoon of the mixture per meatball, roll into balls and place on a plate.

Pour the marinara sauce into a 9 x 9 inch baking pan and top with the meatballs.

Cover the baking pan with foil and bake until meatballs are no longer pink and are firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Serve.

To make Turkey Pesto Eyeballs: Press one black or green olive slice into the top of an uncooked meatball. Roll around in between your hands to make sure the olive is secure. Place olive side up in sauce.

Eye see you!

30 comments:

  1. Adorable! Kids would get a KICK out of this!

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  2. Brilliant idea! It does look a bit creepy...but I would still eat the meatballs.

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  3. oh my gosh this reminds me of Globe Trekker; the episode where he had to eat a lamb or goat eyeball. LOL

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  4. I LOVE it! :) How fun! I'm going to make these for my kiddies this weekend. :)

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  5. I feel a little uneasy looking at those, especially since they are looking back at me! Very fun :D

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  6. "Eye popping" *slapping knee* you crack me up!

    These look a little c-r-e-e-p-y..

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  7. Those are so freaky. It's like the eyes are following me as I was reading your blog. LOL

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  8. if you roll the "eyeballs" all over in the marinara sauce, it makes it even more eerie but anyhow, its Halloween... can scare a couple of people with this... haha..

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  9. Scary, but cute! I don't even like olives, but I'd brave 'em for this recipe.

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  10. wow that looks so freakish! but cool! I think my friends would love this!

    -Amalia

    http://butersweetmelody.wordpress.com

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  11. Love these, they would probably scare the heck out of my kids but ohh welllll...haha!

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  12. Spoooooky! Love it. I am SO making these. We're having my 10yo son's bf over for dinner - trick or treating. Of late my son says I am so boring (wah, but I am still not hanging bloody/gory things up for Halloween)) -- this will do the trick! (ha ha) -- I AM a fun and cool (albeit, a bit strict) mama!! ;-)

    Thanks ever so much!!

    eko

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  13. Luvs it! They really do look like eyeballs! Your presentation is gorgeous as always (or should I say, scary?!) lol! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. Those are awesome! And yes, please come over for dinner anytime...I wouldn't FORCE you to make dessert, although I certainly wouldn't say no to one of your delicious creations! :)

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  15. mmm these really do look delicious :D i havent made meatballs in a long time, maybe this will inspire me to make them.

    and i love your plating with everything just by the way. it looks so pretty er...as pretty as turkey eye balls can get.

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  16. oh my gosh, my kids would get a kick out of this! (and they love meatballs!)

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  17. No, Monica, it doesn't get much better than that! This would be a HIT over here for sure.

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  18. Big Halloween Hit. Perfect to take to a pot luck Halloween party.

    Plan B

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  19. Oh WOW! How cool and creepy ae they!! Fantastic!

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  20. EW! I'd have to eat these with my eyes close.
    ~ingrid

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  21. Hahahahaha!!! These are awesome! I am going to have to make these soon. I have really been craving spaghetti and meatballs so this is perfect!

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  22. Ewwwww! Hahahaha...I could totally not eat these even though I am sure they tasted wonderful! I should trick my kids ;)

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  23. Oh my gosh, Monica, they're really gross! haha How awesome!

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  24. How fun are these?! Pinned!

    Stephanie
    chocolatecoveredbuttons.blogspot.com

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  25. I highlighted this cute recipe on my little blog at http://wadelmat.blogspot.com/ Thanks for sharing!

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  26. Woаh! I'm really digging the template/theme of this blog. It's simplе, yet effective.
    A lot of times it's tough to get that "perfect balance" between user friendliness and appearance. I must say you have done a amazing job with this. In addition, the blog loads super fast for me on Firefox. Excellent Blog!
    My page ; Terry Sawyer

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  27. I was looking for more Halloween Recipes and found your blog site. I hope it’s fine with you if I could pin some of these photos on my Pinterest boards. Thank you and keep sharing :D They look yummy than scary btw! Haha

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  28. I'm making these for my daughter's Halloween party tomorrow! I'm going to pre-bake them however, and then warm them in the sauce in the oven tomorrow night so I have more time during the party to....well, party! Thanks for the great inspiration. Happy Halloween!

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  29. I made these with ground lamb.Since lamb is fatty I baked them half hour,drained the grease then poured on the marinara and put them back in for half hour.I had never made meatballs with pesto before.These were sooo delicious.I wasn't making them look like eyeballs so I sprinkled pizza cheese on top when I took them out of the oven.

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Thank you for your supportive comments. I appreciate each and every one of them!