Happy Halloween!!!

I’m sharing with you my super easy SPOOK-TACULAR carrot, red pepper, tomato sauce with vegan EYEBALLS!
The pasta sauce is so naturally flavourful, easy to make, and packed with veggies- not that anyone can tell, once it’s prepared! I added nutritional yeast, which is an inactive yeast to give the vegan sauce a cheezi-taste and added vitamin B12. You can make the sauce in the Instant Pot or on the stove top. I’ll share both methods.

My tasty vegan, gluten-free, tofu meatball recipe was used to make the “eyeballs”. I love this recipe- it’s my go-to whenever I make pasta. I added black sliced olives to the meatballs before they are baked to make the eye and eyeball. I used single-serve packets of ketchup to add that “bloody” effect once they are cooked.

I used dried squid-ink pasta that I purchased from my recent trip down south to make the dish more spooky. Squid ink pasta tastes just like regular pasta but is black and is made with squid ink (obviously!). Since it uses squid ink, the pasta I used itself isn’t vegan (obviously, again!). But you can also naturally dye or use food colouring to add colour to regular pasta.

Before I share the recipe, I wanted to show you guys how my hubby and I celebrated Halloween this year. This past weekend, we went to my friend’s Halloween party dressed as one of my fav movie cartoon characters. I was looking for a homemade costume idea and these characters came across in my search. Do you know what movie they are from? (Answer below!)

If you guessed “Inside Out”, you are correct! Can you tell that we were dressed up as “Sadness” and “Anger” from the movie? I love Inside Out because the emotions are so well expressed and the characters are so loveable! And, I also must mention that my “Sadness” costume won “BEST Costume” at the party 😀

What will you be for Halloween this year?

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Easy Carrot, Red Pepper, Tomato Sauce with Eyeball Meatballs

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
225g baby carrots (1/2 1lb bag)
1 can diced tomates (796mL, 28oz)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
Eyeball Meatballs (from Vegan, Tofu Meatball Recipe + canned sliced black olives to make eyeballs* + ketchup for the “blood”
Pasta

Directions for Instant Pot:
1. Press sautée mode on Instant Pot.
2. Add oil once “hot” is indicated on Instant Pot.
3. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and carrots and sautée for a few minutes until onions and peppers are softened.
4. Add canned tomatoes, spices and salt. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Quick release the pressure.
5. Add nutritional yeast (optional). Puree using a hand blender or food processor.
Enjoy with pasta and eye-balls.

Directions for Stove Top Method:
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and carrots and sautée for a few minutes until onions and peppers are softened.
3. Add canned tomatoes, spices and salt. Cover and simmer over low heat until carrots are soft, about 20 minutes.
5. Add nutritional yeast (optional). Puree using a hand blender or food processor.
Enjoy with pasta and eye-balls.

*make sure to insert olives into meatballs before they are baked