Recipe: Southwest Meatballs

Today I'm sharing a recipe which I've actually made successfully a few times: Southwest Meatballs. This recipe comes from Clean Eating, a magazine I'd highly recommend if you're interested in cooking with fewer processed foods. The great thing about this recipe is that it can be made in one big skillet -- a very nice feature for someone like me who tends to make big messes when cooking.

Before you get started, you must remove all kitties from the kitchen! For some reason, kitties seem to gravitate toward ground turkey. As you can see, Tinsel was not too pleased that she had to be sequestered in the basement!

As indicated in the recipe below, you'll first need to form the meatballs. This is a gunky process, but it goes fairly quickly. The recipe creates enough meatballs to stretch over two dinners at our house.

Next you'll want to brown the meatballs so they get a nice crust.

Then you'll add the remaining ingredients -- corn, tomatoes, black beans, broth, and spices. It smells SO GOOD! I stepped outside and came back inside a couple of times just so I could smell dinner cooking! :)

Finally, you'll add cilantro for an added kick of flavor and a bit of color. Serve over brown rice for an easy one-skillet dinner!

Southwest Meatballs - Clean Eating magazine

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey breast

2 large egg whites

1/4 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup frozen yellow or white corn

1 15-oz can low-sodium black beans, drained & rinsed

2 cups diced vine-ripened tomatoes

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

1) In a large bowl, combine turkey, egg whites, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Shape into 16 meatballs, each about the size of a golf ball.

2) In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add meatballs and cook for 3-5 minutes, turning frequently, until browned on all sides. Add corn, beans, tomatoes, broth, lime juice, and cumin. Mix well. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until meatballs are cooked through. Stir in cilantro and serve.