First recipe post!

Here's my first recipe post--something we made just tonight. It turned out well, so I wanted to share.

The recipe is Chipotle Meatballs with Cilantro from the cookbook The Good, the Bad & the Yummy.



There is some crazy-good sounding stuff in this cookbook, like Tater Tot Bake with Mozzarella and Spicy Marinara. How fantastic does that sound?!

Anyway, so the meatballs. The recipe calls for store-bought regular or mini meatballs, but I figured making turkey meatballs from scratch would be a better bet. The recipe had a nice amount of heat and lots of great flavor from the cumin and cilantro. We had Mexican rice with pinto beans on the side.

Here's the recipe, along with how we made the meatballs:

Chipotle Meatballs with Cilantro

makes 3 to 4 servings

1 tbsp. vegetable oil (we used olive--I usually use olive or canola)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1 28. oz can whole Italian tomatoes, drained

1 1/4 tsp. salt

2 to 3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded (I rarely seed peppers) and finely chopped

1 lb. store-bought meatballs (we made meatballs with 1 1b. turkey, mixed with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, some chopped cilantro and a couple shakes of garlic powder and chili powder. Mix all together, make into whatever size meatballs you want. Heat oil in a skillet, cook meatballs for about 10 minutes, flipping continuously, or until done.)

1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until just golden, then quickly stir in the cumin and oregano and cook for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes, salt and chipotles, and crush tomatoes with a spatula. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the sauce is reduced. Top with cilantro before devouring (yes, the recipe says "devouring." I like that!).