This is a favorite recipe at my house, and it's a great one for feeding a small group without breaking the bank. The recipe is easy to do and requires ingredients that are generally available at most grocery stores. The meatballs come out moist, loaded with sauce, and sufficiently cheesy to make everyone happy. The dish also is a nice change from meatloaf or burgers, and it often satisfies our urge for Latin food without having to go out for it. Try the meatballs with some beans and rice alongside, a salad, and perhaps some guacamole. Enjoy!
Turkey Enchilada Meatballs -- Serves 6+
Meatballs
1 8.5-ounce cornbread muffin mix, baked and crumbled (or 1 1/2 cups of leftover
cornbread, crumbled)
3 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix (I use McCormick)
1 large egg
1/4 cup of plain, fat-free yogurt
1/2 a 10-ounce can of red enchilada sauce (save the rest, you'll use it later)
16-20 ounces of lean ground turkey (93 percent)
1/2 a 4-ounce can of chiles (save the rest, you'll use it later)
1 1/4 cup of shredded Mexican-style cheese, divided
Cilantro (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a large baking dish with deep sides with non-stick cooking spray. Combine the crumbled cornbread, taco seasoning, egg, yogurt, enchilada sauce, and turkey until well blended. Stir in the chiles and 1/4 cup of the cheese. (You can refrigerate the mixture now and form the meatballs later, if you'd like.) Shape the meatball mixture into 16-18 meatballs, each a little large than a golf ball. Place the meatballs in the prepared dish. Sprinkle the meatballs evenly with 1/2 cup of the remaining cheese, then pour the sauce over the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese evenly over the sauce. Place the meatballs in the oven and bake them for 45-60 minutes (the meatballs should register at least 165 degrees in the center). Let the meatballs cool a few minutes before serving them, sprinkled with chopped cilantro, if you like.
Sauce
1 tablespoon of taco seasoning mix
1/2 a 10-ounce can of red enchilada sauce (the remainder of the can you used for the
meatballs)
1 16-ounce jar of salsa
1/2 a 4-ounce can of chiles (the remainder of the can you used for the meatballs)
1/4 cup of water (rinse out the salsa jar and enchilada can with it and add it to the
sauce)
Mix all the sauce ingredients together until blended. You will not need to add extra salt! The taco seasoning mix has plenty of salt in it as does the enchilada sauce and salsa.
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