Jalapeño Cream Cheese Meatballs

I will never forget the first time I ever made meatballs. It was shortly after my husband and I got engaged and I was cooking them in a skillet. However those little meatballs did not want to stay together and fell apart little by little every time I turned them until they were not longer meatballs, but a pile of cooked meat. My then fiance, now husband, said it tasted fine, but I think he was lying to me to make me feel better.

In the 10 years we have been married, I have made maybe one or two meatball recipes with better success, thanks to cooking them in the oven, but none that had a flavor worth making again. That is until now! These meatballs are super moist and nice and spicy! The whole family loved them even my husband!

The original recipe called for Philadelphia Jalapeño Cream Cheese Spread, but I was unable to find it so I used a tub of plain cream cheese and added jalapeños to it. If you are lucky enough to find the tub of jalapeño cream cheese I would use that, but if you can't then you will still be able to make these moist and spicy meatballs.

Jalapeño Cream Cheese Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 8 ounce tub 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounce can diced jalapeños
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine the cream cheese and jalapeños until combined.
2. Add the egg, bread crumbs, bacon, cheese, onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin and black pepper and mix well.
3. Add the ground turkey and mix just until combined. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
5. Scoop 1 slightly rounded tablespoon of meat mixture up and roll it into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Place meatballs 1 inch apart.
6. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until completely cooked.

Enjoy!!!

Serves: 6
Calories: 325
Total Fat: 26.3g
   Saturated: 10.9g
   Polyunsaturated: 0g
   Monounsaturated: 0.2g
   Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 165.8mg
Sodium: 580.1mg
Potassium: 213.6mg
Total Carbs: 88.3g
   Dietary Fiber: 0.7g
   Sugars: 3.3g
Protein: 23.3g
Vitamin A: 18.1%
Vitamin C: 9.5%
Calcium: 24.5%
Iron: 7.5%
*The nutritional information will vary slightly depending on the brands you use.
*Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice.

Enjoy!!!