Friday, November 5, 2010

E: Mexican Meatballs

Happy Friday!! Weekend plans? Mine are a bit up in the air- but hopefully lots of friend & family time. After seeing Mandi whip up those incredible meatballs the other day, I knew I wanted to take the concept and make a more Mexican-ish type of meatball for Josh (for new readers: I am a vegetarian).  And here is the result:

Mexican Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg, beaten lightly
  • 1 jar of salsa (I used a jar of Pace that was provided to me through the taste testers program at Food Buzz- disclaimer: I received this salsa for free but have always been a fan of Pace’s salsas)

meximeatballs 003 

  • 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 jalapeno or other spicy chile pepper (I used 1/2 a chile pepper my Aunt gave me from her garden), seeds removed, chopped

meximeatballs 005 

  • 3/4 to 1 pound of ground beef (you can you chicken/turkey, I used ~.84 lb ground sirloin)
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend (I used 2% sharp cheddar)
  • 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together egg, 2 tablespoons of salsa, chili powder, onion & jalapeno/pepper. Add ground beef, cheese and bread crumbs. Mix together with your clean (as Mandi noted ;)) hands until just combined.

meximeatballs 006

Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack. Spray cooling rack with non-stick spray. Form medium sized meatballs and place on cooling rack.

 meximeatballs 008 

Top with additional salsa (note: I ground up my salsa since Josh is not a fan of tomato chunks).  Looks like the meatballs are wearing little hats:

meximeatballs 011 

Bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked through (no longer pink). Serve! You could put these on top of veggies (peppers & onions), rice or both! You could also top with additional salsa. These would make a fun meatball sub. The result isn’t too gorgeous but Josh said the taste was awesome.

   meximeatballs 013

I am entering this recipe in this weeks Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) challenge, chilies, hosted by Biz.

28 comments:

Jessica @ How Sweet said...

These sound delish. I just made some meatballs on Wednesday for my husband. He looooves meatballs. Happy weekend!

Lauren said...

Question for you: Do you ever wonder what your meat dishes taste like?? Whenever I make meat for Toly, I often wonder if it's actually good or not since I don't ever really taste the finished product.
If going by looks though, it's safe to say that Josh's meals are always delicious!

Anonymous said...

I love how tasty and how simple are the meatballs! since the last time I made it, I love it! It's a great rescue meal~~ :)

Heather said...

Meatballs are C's favorite food! Wonder if he'd like the mexican version (I know J would!)...?
Have a fantastic weekend, sister - hope you get your family time!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

Ooo love love love the Mexican flare you put on these meatballs. I can never turn down anything with Mexican!! Have a fab weekend :-)

Christina said...

mmm i love meatballs!! i've never made them mexican style. i LOVE the salsa on top - so cute! like sombreros, hehee. happy friday my friend!

Krista said...

The BSI is still going around? I haven't seen it for a looooong time! I like that salsa in these. Bet it packed a punch while keeping the meatballs moist!

Jenna said...

This may sound weird, but I've been craving meatballs lately. I need to make some soon, and this recipe looks great!

hbobier said...

Even though I'm a veggie, salsa and meatballs (faux meat in my world) is always a winning combo. Gosh, now you have me craving mexican tonight. Thanks for that.

hbobier said...

Aah I'm so excited! But I'm moderately computer-less for the weekend, so we'll see if my Blackberry can stop sucking at life so much that I can still check up on you! Or I'll just sweet-talk the roommate to try and get on her computer...haha :)

Julie said...

oh a meatball sub sounds like such a manly meal! i'm definitely going to pass this forward to deej because i know van loves his meatballs! i bet these would make great mini meatloves or turkey muffins!

i hope you win this recipe contest!!

i keep meaning to try mandi's meatballs too! you guys should let your hubbys know how lucky they are ;)

Corey @ the runner's cookie said...

So glad it's friday! I hope you have a relaxing and fun one. I have a lot of application work to get done but hopefully there's room for some fun too :)
Those are such cute meatballs! I smiled when you said Josh is not a fan of tomato chunks - my boyfriend says the same thing and personally I don't get it! haha

erica said...

These sound delish! I have been looking for a new meatball recipe to make for my husband. Definitely going to give these a try!

xo

Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather said...

They sound great! The little hats are pretty cute.

Have an awesome weekend Erica :)

Biz said...

Great BSI entry!! I love that you say the meatballs have little hats on! :D

Have an awesome weekend!

The Blonde Duck said...

Mexican meatballs? Be still my heart!

Unknown said...

SO clever! who knew italian and mexican were so compatible?!

happy friday :)

Pound said...

great idea!!

Sarah said...

Boys do love their meatballs :)

Have a fun weekend with the family!

Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...

I love the little "hats" on each meatball. So cute! You are such a kind wife to prepare yummy meat dishes for Josh even if you don't eat them yourself :).

Have an awesome weekend!

teresa said...

those look excellent! i love meatballs baked in the oven too!

vanillasugarblog said...

bite size, so we can eat more. awesome. lol

Val said...

These are pure perfection. Yum

Paige is Running Around Normal said...

Those sound great! Shane loves meatballs and I'm sure he'd love these!

Stephanie @cookinfanatic said...

You know my weakness for Mexican food!!! These look great!

blackbookkitchendiaries said...

this dish is making me very hungry right now..thanks for sharing this.

Katie said...

Those meatballs look great! I love that you mixed in salsa... Ari would love them!

Have a great weekend :-)

Kerstin said...

I love this idea - they look super tasty!