Chicken Enchilada Meatballs

Heather Jurczyk from HeCooksSheCooks.com shares her recipes with Shindigz

Happy Cinco de Mayo! One of the tastiest food holidays ever. Ever ever. So many delicious tastes! Tacos and burritos and taquitos. Fresh salsa and guacamole. And margaritasssssss! Sigh. I love it all. And much to Jeff’s dismay, I could eat Mexican food every day of my life. For now he concedes on twice a week. I am working on increasing that.

These Chicken Enchilada Meatballs came about as we were planning a Cinco de Mayo party. I wanted simple finger foods (no dinner time assembly required like tacos) but I also wanted all the flavor of some of my favorite elaborate meals. The Enchilada meatball was born.

This is simple but does require some prep work. Grind your own chicken if you can, and get a good quality enchilada sauce. You can make your own and we usually do but we make a half gallon at a time. I wanted easy for this recipe.

Mexican Inspired Chicken Enchilada Meatballs are perfect for a Fiesta anytime!

Chicken Enchilada Meatballs

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 4 scallions minced
• 1 teaspoon whole chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup Mexican cerveza
• 2 hand fulls of corn chips, crushed fine
• Mexican Quesadilla cheese (not fresh crumbling cheese, melting cheese)
• Red enchilada sauce (we used Frontera brand which is really good.)
• Cooking oil (olive, canola, vegetable or corn)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Let sit for 30 minutes. Roll into 1″ balls.

Preheat oven to 400°

In a heavy bottomed pan add about 2 Tablespoons of oil and heat till hot. Add the meatballs in 2 batches (This is so you do not over crowd the meatballs and steam them instead of browning them.) and cook till browned on all sides.

Move the meatballs to a 9 x 9 pan and pour the enchilada sauce over them. Top with 6 oz of shredded cheese and bake for 25 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Be sure and check back Friday for a special “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” recipe just in time for The Kentucky Derby!

Recipe by Heather Jurczyk, the sassy half of the  duo that make up the cooking team of He Cooks She Cooks. They have a weakness for feel good, down to earth, amazingly tasty eats that almost always include the addition of beer.

From growing their own tomatoes to brewing their own beer, they like to cook from scratch as much as possible. They know what’s important. Love. Food. Beer. Visit He Cooks She Cooks for more recipes.

Habanero Bacon Cheddar Cheeseball

Heather Jurczyk from HeCooksSheCooks.com shares her recipes with Shindigz

Happy Cheeseball Day!

Maybe, just maybe you have never heard of cheeseball day before. And you are thinking to yourself “you know there are plenty of other holidays we could be celebrating why the cheeseball?” Hmm… like tax day? Pfffft!

It is a day worth celebrating! Have you ever HAD a cheeseball? I don’t mean the small crispy cheeseballs that make a great after-school snack. (Or after work snack, or beer snack, or stuck on a train for 3 hours snack…) I mean the tasty cheesy smear on a cracker or on a stalk of celery snack that if you think back, you had once or twice, loved it but never thought you could do it for yourself because let’s face it, they are magical.

I am here to show you the cheeseball light! In a few simple steps you will be the easy cheesy hero at your next gathering with this Habanero Bacon Cheddar Cheeseball.

Yummy Cinco de Mayo party appetizer – a Habanero Bacon Cheddar Cheeseball

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1  4 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 Serrano seeded and diced
• 1 Habanero seeded and diced
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 8 slices of thick cut bacon, diced

In a large bowl or in the bowl of your mixer add the cream cheese and mayo and whip till well blended.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix till well combined.

Pour out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic around the cheese mixture and form a ball. Twist end tightly.

Refrigerate for 4 hours.
Cook up the bacon in a large skillet till crispy. Drain and cool. Crumble.

Remove cheese ball from refrigerator and roll in bacon crumbles.

Serve immediately with crackers, celery, apples or whatever else you like.

NEXT WEEK: Zucchini Carrot Squash Bread

Recipe by Heather Jurczyk, the sassy half of the  duo that make up the cooking team of He Cooks She Cooks. They have a weakness for feel good, down to earth, amazingly tasty eats that almost always include the addition of beer.

From growing their own tomatoes to brewing their own beer, they like to cook from scratch as much as possible. They know what’s important. Love. Food. Beer. Visit He Cooks She Cooks for more recipes.

Mini Crescent Dogs

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) cans  Crescent Dinner Rolls
• 48 cocktail-sized smoked link sausages or hot dogs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll both cans of the dough; separate into 16 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 narrow triangles.
2. Place sausage on shortest side of each triangle. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point; place point side down on 2 ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, switching position of cookie sheets halfway through baking. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Spinach Manicotti

• 1 Large Onion
• 2 Large Cloves of Minced Garlic
• 2 – 28 oz jars of Pasta Sauce
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• 16 oz. Ricotta Cheese
• 8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Cup Shredded Parmasan Cheese
• 10 oz Bag or Box of Chopped Spinach
• 8 oz. Uncooked Manicotti
• 8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Thaw spinach and squeeze between paper towels to get all water out. Set aside. In a large skillet saute the onions and garlic. Add the pasta sauce and sugar. Stir to blend. Bring sauce mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer while preparing filling. In a large bowl combine the ricotta cheese, first amount of mozzarella cheese, slightly beaten eggs, parmesan cheese and the drained spinach. Mix spinach manicotti filling well. Pour 1 cup of the tomato sauce into the bottom of an un greased casserole dish. Stuff the uncooked manicotti with the cheese spinach filling. Layer stuffed manicotti into pan and cover with remaining sauce. Cover with foil.
Bake stuffed spinach manicotti for 45 minutes. Remove foil. Top manicotti with remaining cheese and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Easy spinach manicotti can be prepared the day before and stored in the refrigerator over night. Remove from refrigerator 1/2 hour before baking.

Serves: 6 – 8

Creamy and Cheesy Carrots

• 4 Cups of Sliced Carrots
• 1 Large Onion
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 Can of Cream of Celery Soup
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/3 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 1/4 Cups Ritz Cracker Crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook carrots until crisp tender. Layer carrots into a 2-quart casserole dish. Heat first amount of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onions in butter until tender. Add undiluted soup, salt, pepper and cheese. Mix well and pour creamy cheesy part over the top of carrots. Mix cracker crumbs with melted butter. Sprinkle buttered crumbs on top of casserole. Bake creamy cheesy carrots for 30 minutes. Serves 6-8.

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
• 1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust
• 3 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 (3 ounce) jar cooked real bacon pieces (such as Hormel™)
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Stir together the softened cream cheese and ranch dressing mix in a bowl until smooth. Spread the mixture on the pre-baked crust. Sprinkle the jalapeno slices and bacon on top of the cream cheese mixture; then top with the shredded cheese.
3. Combine the melted butter and seasoned bread crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the pizza. Bake in preheated oven until the bread crumbs are nicely browned and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.

Guinness Brownies

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chopped so it melts better)
• 4 oz. white chocolate (chopped so it melts better)
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 Cup baking cocoa
• 1 1/4 Cups Guinness stout
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375° 

 Butter an 8-inch-square pan. Mix eggs and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat into the egg mixture. Slowly add the flour and cocoa together and beat into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in the Guinness. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. To serve the brownies dust with powdered sugar.

New Year’s Black Eyed Peas

• 1 pound dry black-eyed peas
• 2 cups chopped cooked ham
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch garlic powder
• 2 onions, diced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole tomatoes

Place black-eyed peas in 8 quart pot. Add enough water to fill pot 3/4 full. Stir in ham and diced onions, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place tomatoes in a blender or food processor, and blend until the tomatoes are liquefied. Add tomatoes to pot. Bring all ingredients to boil. Cover the pot, and simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the peas are tender.

New Years Smothered Cabbage

• 1 head cabbage, sliced
• 1 lb bacon, sliced into small pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• salt and pepper

1. In a large pot cook bacon, remove and drain, reserving the fat.
2. Add onion to bacon fat and cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Add cabbage and drained bacon and saute for 5-10 minutes.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.

Three Alarm Meatballs

MEATBALLS:
1 egg
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pound chorizo OR hot Italian sausage
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

SAUCE:
1 cup spicy barbeque sauce
1/2 cup grape jelly

Heat oven to 350ºF.

In large bowl beat egg slightly. Add all remaining meatball ingredients; mix lightly. Shape into 1 inch balls. Place on 15×10 inch pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until evenly browned and cooked through. Drain off fat.

Meanwhile, in 3 quart saucepan combine bbq sauce and jelly. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally with wire whisk, until well blended and mixture just comes to a boil (3-4 minutes).

Add meatballs; gently stir to coat. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through (3-5 minutes).

Makes 50.