Mexican Meatballs

Instead of Mexican Meatball Soup, I do Mexican Meatballs with a gravy or sauce over rice. It is really yummy, as spicy or mild as you want them, and a great way to do something different using a cheaper meat like ground beef.




I made this recently for an impromptu dinner party of 5 adults and 2 toddlers with practically zero leftovers. Don't you love our pretty paper plates? lol

Ingredients

FOR THE Meatballs:

• 2.5  lbs ground beef
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 bunch Cilantro, loosely chopped
• 2 oz mild chilies 
• 2 tsp crushed garlic or 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup-ish vegetable oil

FOR THE Sauce:

• 2 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 4 oz mild (or hot if  you like the heat) green chilies
• 16 oz salsa (I use mild but I'm a heat weeny)
• 2 cups beef broth
• Medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp crushed garlic or 4 minced garlic cloves
• 3 tsp cumin
• Red Pepper Flakes to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste

   Utensils you will need:

• Frying Pan 
• Dutch oven/Big spaghetti/Soup pot
• Cutting board
• Cutting knife
• Tongs
• Stirring Spoon
• Large bowl for mixing meatballs
• Parchment Paper/ Baking Sheet
• Paper Towels/ Tea Towels to drain grease 

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directions

1. Pour a dollop of oil into dutch oven, add onion and garlic and saute until soft. 
2. Add both cans of tomatoes, beef broth, salsa, and chilies and bring to a boil. Let stew on low-medium heat while you begin prepping meatballs 
3. In your meatball mixing bowl hand mix ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic, chilies, salt, pepper, and cilantro                                  
4. It sounds counterproductive but trust me. Before you begin hand rolling your meatballs, take a small palm-full of vegetable oil and rub hands together like rubbing in lotion. This will keep the meat from sticking to your hands and makes washing your hands after SOO much easier. 
5. Roll your ground beef mixture into 1-2" meatballs. As you will see, I make mine a little on the larger size. It is a big time saver to go ahead and roll all your meatballs at once. You can place the meatballs on a sheet of parchment paper to protect your counter tops from a messy cleanup later                                                             
6. Heat oil in frying pan on medium heat. While waiting on oil to heat up go ahead and stir the sauce and taste. Add additional seasonings (ie salt, pepper, red pepper flakes) as desired. Remember small amounts at a time. The longer it sits the more flavorful and spicier it will get, 
7. Test oil to make sure it is hot enough to fry. Easiest way is to run a couple fingers under the water real quick and flick the water on your fingers into the oil. If the oil bubbles and pops, it's ready. If no reaction then wait a bit longer.
8. Once oil is ready, use tongs and place meatballs in pan being careful to not crowd. If too crowded you wont have room to turn the meatballs. 
9. It only takes 2-3 minutes (Some pans will require less time) to brown each side of the meatballs. You don't have to worry about cooking them all the way through because they are going to cook further in the sauce. 
10. Once the meatballs are browned all over, use tongs to remove and place on paper towels to blot the worst of the grease before placing in sauce 
11. Repeat process until all the meatballs are browned and simmering in sauce. Let cook in sauce on medium-high heat for 30 minutes         
12. During this time is when I make my plain white rice per the package instructions. 
13. Serve meatballs and sauce over white rice with your vegetable of choice and ENJOY!