Meaty Spider Bites

Perfect for Halloween in October, Be kind to Spiders Week in April, great for a theme birthday party and a perfect "all eyes are on you" congratulations party.

Like most foodies, I like to play with my food and today was no different. I've been on this big spider kick this season so I wanted to keep it going by sharing my little southwestern spider bites that I like to make.

These cute little guys are nothing more than seasoned beef, veggies & cheese. Tostitos scoops make the perfect bowls for the spiders body. Pop a few black beans on and you have a lot of eyes looking at you.

I've made several versions of these creepy little guys but today I went with a southwestern flavor because I wanted to serve them over lettuce like a taco salad. They look just like there ready to crawl right into some body's mouth too. lol-

Dinner Party: In the past I've served them as appetizers. It was for a dinner party with a spider theme. I placed one meaty spider bite on individual saucers and served them while they were still hot.

The Meat: What can I say.... The meat filling is truly unlimited and there's nothing to it really. It can be taco flavor, sloppy joe flavor, Swedish white meatball sauce, red spaghetti sauce (Italian), white stroganoff flavor (which I've done over a bed of spaghetti) you name it. You can even cheat on homemade steps and use hamburger helper if you want. It all works.

The one thing you can't change on is the tostitos scoops. These little bowls are perfect to hold meat and they are thick enough to hold their shape without going soggy. Always cook all the moisture out of your meat before you scoop it in. Another thing that I find helpful is toasting the scoops in the oven with a bit of grated cheese in the bottom. Toasting flavors the chips for sure but it also seals the bottom of the scoops as the cheese melts and keeps any moisture left in the meat from collapsing your spider body.
 
It's No Fuss: Just brown your hamburger meat really small so it's easier to spoon in (sometimes I add a bit of ground spicy sausage). Drain the fat, drain the fat, drain the fat! did I say drain the fat? This is sooo important. Those chips will soap up every little bit if you don't and it will be yucky.

Now just dump it in: Yep that's all you have to do. Today I dumped in 1 can of southwest corn, 1 can of tomatoes and green chilis and a small block of velveeta cheese. Last but not least I added a fajita / taco season packet and simmered until all the moisture was gone.

I've made these a few times throughout the years. For a dinner party one time I served one spider on each plate as a meaty appetizer. Today I just set them on a bed of lettuce for a taco salad. When your ready to eat just rip-em apart & eat. giggle~

The Spider Legs: I use bell peppers for the spider legs not only because bell peppers go so well with hamburger meat (mince) but it has a natural curve that helps the legs of your spider to look arched.

Today I went with yellow bell peppers because I put yellow corn in the meat so I wanted my spiders to be yellow. If you want to go with red bell peppers use more tomatoes in the meat. For green legs I use more beans and green chilies. 

Orange Spiders for Halloween: 3 years ago I went with a orange spider which I loved! I used orange bell peppers for the legs and melted grated cheese on top of the body. I stuck the black bean eyes on while the cheese was still hot. This made the whole spider look orange and the eyes held on nicely too. Talk about good! I have a weakness for cheese anyway so maybe that's why it was so good but they did look better than the one's I did today.

For a tray of party favors: insert the legs up-side-down for a dead spider look!  This is really the only way you can pick them up with your fingers, legs and all that is. Another leg option is Chinese noodles. They just don't taste as good to me unless I've fixed the dessert spider bites I make. Hummm I'll save that for another post. :)

Enjoy life yall. Have some fun in the kitchen and share your photos. Now go to your kitchen and get leggy. Your blogging friend, Pam
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