Spooky Meals for Halloween -

Eyeball Pasta

Preheat oven to 400° and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
In a large bowl, add beef, onion, Panko, garlic, parsley, and egg. Season generously with salt and pepper. Mix ingredients together with a rubber spatula or your hands until well combined, then shape into 1” balls. Place onto baking sheet.
Bake until meatballs for 13 minutes, then to each meatball, add a piece of cheese and olive to create “eyeballs.” Bake until cheese is melty, 2 minutes more.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain and transfer to platter.
Pour warm marinara sauce over spaghetti, then scatter with meatballs.

In a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until golden.
Meanwhile, halve, peel, and scrape out seeds of the pumpkin. Cut into chunks.
Add pumpkin chunks and broth to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, uncovered, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until pumpkin is fork-tender, about 30 minutes.
Remove pot from heat and, using an immersion blender, blend mixture until smooth. (Alternatively, let soup cool, then blend in a blender.) Stir in cream and season to taste.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls, add a swirl of cream, and garnish with pepper.

2 15- ounce cans organic black beans 425 grams, rinsed and drained
1 15- ounce can diced organic tomatoes 411 grams
3 cups ml( low sodium 710, chicken, turkey, vegetables, organic broth of choice)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3-4 garlic cloves minced
2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika or regular
½ teaspoon smoked black pepper or regular
¼ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper or more for more heat
Kosher salt to taste
1 15- ounce can organic pure pumpkin puree 425 grams, not pie mix
2 -3 teaspoons Balsamic vinegar
Optional garnishes: grated low fat Jack or Cheddar cheese crumbled queso fresco, diced fresh tomatoes, sliced green onions or chives, crushed tortilla chips, low fat sour cream, diced avocado, and chopped cilantro.

Puree beans and tomatoes with half of the chicken broth in a large capacity blender, like a Vitamix. If you have a smaller capacity blender you may need to do it in two batches.
In a large saucepan heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add onion and cook until soft, and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and 1 minute more.
Add spices, stir and cook for a minute or two, until they bloom and you can smell them.
Stir in black bean-tomato puree, pumpkin, the rest of the broth. Simmer uncovered until blended and thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in vinegar and serve. Top with garnishes of choice, as noted above. For an extra smooth soup, give it one more whirl in the blender.

Stir 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin, mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese, pudding mix, and pumpkin pie spice together in a bowl until smooth.
Beat cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; fold into pumpkin mixture. Spoon pumpkin mixture into a resealable plastic bag and snip a 3/4-inch hole in 1 corner. Pipe pumpkin mixture into each cannoli shell. Garnish the ends with sprinkles and confectioners’ sugar.