The meatballs in a rich-tasting, homemade Enchilada sauce are spicy and very flavorful with plenty of ooey gooey Cheddar cheese. My husband said, "This is blog worthy." So, here I am blogging about it and sharing this recipe with you. It is very easy to assemble, even if you make the Taco Seasoning and Enchilada Sauce yourself. You can, of course, make use of commercial products. Remember the sodium in commercial products is higher, so look for other ways to cut the sodium a bit, such as using some No Salt seasoning in the meatballs, besides some salt.
This recipe makes 21 meatballs. They are not huge, as I used 2 tbsp per meatball. If you like you can make the meatballs twice the size. You will have to bake the meatballs a little longer though.
The sauce is rich tasting and plenty thick enough with the cornstarch I added. Look at the carbs; they are not out of line. 2 g carbs for 1 tsp and thus 4 grams for 2 tsp, and now divide that by 6 is 0.7 g carbs to add to your serving. I dislike xanthan gum as it affects my husband's digestive system adversely, besides the fact that I don't like the gummy outcome that often happens.
I make my own chicken stock, too, and it is nowhere near as salty as commercial products. It is so easy to make in the slow-cooker with a chicken carcass. I will include the recipe in the Helpful Hints. I always have some in the freezer. So useful for many recipes. I have finally run out and need to make some more tonight.
These meatballs are cooked in a very rich, flavorful and substantial Enchilada sauce and after cooking (covered), Cheddar cheese is sprinkled over the top. If you are obsessed with very ooey gooey cheesy meatballs, you can double the amount of Cheddar cheese suggested in the recipe. Some of the cheese falls on the meatballs and some in the sauce. This helps to thicken the sauce as well. The sauce is plenty thick enough (just lovely!) and becomes much thicker by the next day after chilling.
If you like, you can garnish the meatballs with cilantro or chopped green onions.
Mexican foods like this, even if not fully authentic, are such fun to add to our usual repertoire. I have quite a few Mexican-style dishes these days, as I think they are popular with most of us. If you like you can serve these meatballs with sour cream to mitigate the spiciness. I think some bland veggies like mashed cauliflower or a lovely salad on the side makes the most sense.
You can certainly replace the homemade Enchilada Sauce with commercial red enchilada sauce.
Update: A friend, Marlys Unrau, made this recipe and found that her sauce was a bit too thin. I used packaged, shredded cheese, which I think has a bit of starch in it to keep the cheese bits separate from one another. Some of the cheese should be in the sauce which will help thicken it. If you find your sauce is too thin, then remove the meatballs and place sauce in a pot and simmer over medium low heat until reduced/thickened to your liking.
Ingredients:
1 lb 10 oz ground beef (737 g)
2 large eggs
1/4
cup grated Cheddar cheese (60 mL)
4 tbsp Taco seasoning (60 mL)
(my recipe below)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese (250 mL)
Taco Seasoning:
1 tbsp mild chili powder (15 mL)
11/2 tsp salt (7 mL)
1 tsp black pepper (5 mL)
1 tsp paprika (5 mL)
1 tsp onion powder (5 ml)
1 tsp oregano (5 mL)
1/2
tsp garlic powder (2 mL)
1/2
tsp crushed red pepper flakes (2 mL)
Enchilada Sauce:
2 tbsp extra-light olive oil (30 mL)
2 tbsp mild chili powder (30 mL)
2 tsp cornstarch (10 mL)
1/2
tsp cumin (2 mL)
1/2
tsp garlic powder (2 mL)
1/2
tsp oregano (2 mL)
11/2 cups chicken stock (my recipe below, OR
commercial*)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In
large bowl, combine ground beef, eggs, 1/4 cup (60 mL) Cheddar
cheese and Taco seasoning. Mix very well
using disposable gloves. Form meatballs
using a 2-tbsp cookie scoop. I filled
the scoop generously, packing it in. The
recipe made 21 meatballs. Place the meatballs
in a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) glass baking dish. Pour the Enchilada Sauce over all the
meatballs. Cover the dish with foil and
bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Cheddar
cheese and bake another 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Taco Seasoning: In small bowl, stir together chili powder, salt,
black pepper, paprika, onion powder, oregano, garlic powder and crushed red
pepper flakes.
Enchilada Sauce: In medium bowl, pour olive oil. Add chili powder, cornstarch, cumin, garlic
powder and oregano. Whisk in chicken stock.
Helpful Hints: *If using commercial
chicken stock, reduce the salt in the meatballs by 1/2 tsp
(2 mL), if desired, or use No Salt.
Yield: 6 servings
1
serving
451.3
calories
32.9
g protein
33.4
g fat
0.5 g fiber
3.1
g net carbs
Low-Carbing Among Friends makes money through affiliate partner links; if you click on a link, we may earn a commission. Also we may earn from qualifying purchases made on Amazon
[Sneak a Peek: CLICK on any Cookbook cover below to view all the Photos/Recipes inside]
