Southwest Meatballs

Well it is good to be home but I had a great weekend! We took 26 of our youth group kids to Trout Lake Camp this weekend and had a phenomenal time with them! Somehow it always seems to be really busy leading up to Trout and I am completely stressed out. However, when I get there and spend some time with the kids I am always reminded of how much I love teenagers. They are a blast and God did some amazing things in their lives this weekend too!

On to dinner right? I know it is the food you care about! Tonight I made a recipe from my Clean Eating Magazine that I have been wanting to try out. (If I haven't said it before please get a subscription to that magazine! That is how we eat in a nutshell.) The great thing was I had everything  I needed to make it so no trip to the store.

Southwest Meatballs with Warm Corn-Black Bean Salsa

I have to apologize for making it seem like we only eat Greek or Mexican around here. I know I posted my Fiesta Rice Salad the other day and I openly admit I could absolutely give up all other food for Greek if I had to but the flavor of this was so good! I was a little skeptical because there wasn't much that went into the meatball part but that ended up being the best part of the dish so I think you must try it even if you are sick of Mexican. So gather up these ingredients and get started!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey breast

2 large egg whites

1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 tsp. olive oil

1 cup frozen yellow or white corn

1 can black beans drained and rinsed well

2 cups diced vine ripened tomatoes

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 - 1 cup salsa

Mrs. Dash Southwest Seasoning - about 1/2 tsp.

These last two ingredients were my additions and are optional.

Step one: In a large bowl combine turkey, egg whites, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and Mrs. Dash if you are using it and mix well. Shape into meatballs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add meatballs. Cook for 3-5 minutes, turning frequently, until browned on all sides. (It took me more like 5-7 minutes. I also gave up on the tongs and just used a fork to turn them over.)

This is the Mrs. Dash I used in case you don't remember it from a previous post.

As you can see my meatballs got a little flat. They were a little moist to begin with because I used too much egg white so they didn't want to hold their shape very well. Also the recipe says to make 16 meatballs each the size of a golf ball and I chose to make mine smaller and got more like 22 I think. You know I have a thing for mini! It didn't matter though they still tasted awesome!

One pot meals always my favorite!

Step Two: Add corn, beans, tomatoes, broth, lime juice, salsa if using and cumin and mix well. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through and all is warm. Stir in cilantro and serve. I used the salsa because I was short on tomatoes but in the future I will use it again just because it made it was very delicious.

Now a word about the cilantro. Use it! Don't skip it! I wish I hadn't deleted the photo of the dish before I added the cilantro so you could see for yourself the difference the green color makes. Then I forgot to add a little more before I served it tonight as well as the avocado I was going to slice up and put on at the last minute. So it will be even better the next time I make it and don't forget those things.

I served it with green beans, not very Mexican, and mango with grapes, a little more Mexican. I just have rules about eating enough green food you know so beans it was!

Three people loved dinner tonight. One person tolerated dinner tonight but finished much more quickly than usual!

Stay tuned for mini pumpkin cheesecakes tomorrow! That's right!

Just in case you also care about my awesome weekend here are a couple Trout pictures.

Up that hill behind us is the zipline we all jumped off.

Playing a very intense game of human fooseball. This has to be the best game ever invented but I think we all have a few bruises on our legs!

Our awesome football dominating guys! Miles may or may not have thrown too many interceptions. He might have to retire now since he will be 40 next year.

The whole crew. Thanks for such a fun weekend everyone!