Chipotle Chicken Meatballs

I got the idea for this recipe from a Rachel Ray recipe.  But the recipe was actually really poorly written and possibly missing some steps.   It is unfortunate that some recipes are poorly written and therefore either confusing or creates an awful meal.  The more you read recipes, the more you cook, the more likely you will be able to identify errors in the recipe.


So I took matters into my own hands and came up with this recipe, which is full of good mexican flavors.  You can make it as spicy as you want it.  The main spice is from the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (usually found in the cultural/Mexican/Spanish food isle at the store).  You can cut the peppers and use that, you can also use the sauce it is in.  The peppers have lots of seeds, which is where most of the heat is.  If you want more heat- keep the seeds.  If you want less heat, cut the pepper, and discard the seeds.  You can always test the spiciness of the meatball by pinching off a small amount of the mixture and quickly cooking it on the stove stop.  Let it cool, and taste it.  Remember, you can always add in more spice, but you can't take it out.



I roasted corn in the oven to give it an extra sweet taste.  All you have to do is lightly coat the peeled ears of corn, sprinkle with salt and pepper; then wrap with foil and roast at 400*.

Chipotle Chicken Meatballs

What you'll need:
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp adobo sauce, plus more for the yogurt sauce
- 1 finely chopped chipotle pepper
- 3 tsp cilantro paste, or 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/8 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp pepper, plus more for the corn
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for the corn
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 ear corn
- 1/2 tsp canola oil
- 1 cups shredded cabbage
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 or 5  small (4 1/2" diameter) tortillas

What to do:
1.  Preheat oven to 400*F.  Lightly coat corn with canola oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Wrap in foil and roast in over for 15 - 17 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool about 5 minutes.  When cooled, stand the corn vertically and cut the kernels off with a knife cutting downwards.

2.  Mix together yogurt, and 2 tsp adobo sauce.

3.  Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.  In a large bowl mix together the adobo sauce and the next 8 ingredients (through lime juice).  Add in cooked onion mixture.  Form into meatballs.  Makes 12 - 15 meatballs.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Cook meatballs 400* for 8 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350* and flip over the meatballs.

Top  three meatballs on 1 tortilla, with roasted corn, cabbage, and chipotle yogurt dressing.

Nutrition Information (per "taco" with 3 meatballs)
323 calories, 31g carbs, 3g fiber, 34g protein, 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat