Halloween Meatloaf Mice

These individual meatloaf mice are the kind of Halloween dinner that gets kids excited about eating their protein. Each mini loaf is shaped into a mouse with a pointed nose and rounded back, then decorated with steamed carrot coin ears, raisin eyes, a carrot strip tail, and broken uncooked spaghetti whiskers poking out from the snout.

The meat mixture uses a blend of ground beef and ground turkey with oatmeal as the binder. Oatmeal absorbs moisture better than breadcrumbs, which helps the mouse shapes hold together on the baking sheet without a loaf pan. Egg whites keep things bound without adding the richness of whole eggs.

Serving each mouse on a pool of warmed spaghetti sauce is the finishing touch. It looks like each mouse is sitting on a little red puddle, which is perfectly spooky for the holiday. Kids who won’t normally touch meatloaf tend to change their minds when dinner has a face.

Kitchen Tips

• Steam the carrot garnishes first. Raw carrots won’t stay in the slits and are too hard for small kids. Crisp-tender is the sweet spot, firm enough to hold but soft enough to eat.
• Shape the loaves with wet hands. The meat mixture sticks to dry hands and makes shaping difficult. Damp hands let you sculpt the pointed nose cleanly.
• Insert decorations right after baking while the meatloaf is still hot and soft enough to accept the slits for ears and tail.

Variations

• Use all turkey for a leaner version that shapes just as well.
• Add hidden veggies like finely grated zucchini or carrot into the meat mixture for extra nutrition without changing the flavor.