Sometimes it’s hard to be creative in the kitchen. It’s easy (and convenient) to have your go-to meals, but I’ve learned that approach can also get boring. Have you ever had a day when you’re starving, but in the mood for nothing? I had one of those days a few weeks ago. Although I didn’t feel much like cooking, I forced myself into the kitchen and stared at the ingredients we had in the fridge. I must say, I make a mean chicken meatball that I’ve tossed in many sauces. I decided on BBQ chicken meatballs, but wasn’t sure what else I would make with them. What goes well with BBQ? Apples! And just like that, the BBQ Chicken Meatball Taco with Apples was born.
BBQ Chicken Meatball Tacos
Ingredients
1lb Chicken Chop Meat
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 Egg
10 Baby Carrots
1 Celery Stalk
1 Small Shallot
2 Clove of Garlic
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Paprika
1/8 Tsp Chicken Seasoning
Sauce:
1/4 Cup BBQ Sauce*
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Dijon Honey Mustard
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Sprinkle of Salt and Black Pepper
*I only had about 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce left, but I recommend doubling the BBQ sauce and dijon honey mustard
Tacos:
Soft Corn Tortillas
Fresh Baby Spinach
1 Apple
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
In a food processor finely chop shallot, garlic, celery and carrots then transfer to medium size bowl.
Add chicken chop meat, egg, panko and seasonings to the bowl and combine well. Be careful to not overwork the meat because it can turn tough.
Carefully form balls with the mixture in the size that you like. I made 9 larger meatballs, but smaller may have been better for this dish.
Bake for 25-30 minutes then broil for 2-5 minutes.
BBQ Sauce:
When there are 5 minutes left on the meatballs, combine all ingredients in a small pot. Simmer on low for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.
Tacos:
After getting the sauce started, place corn tortillas on a baking sheet. Bake for no more than 5 minutes in the oven. The small corn tortillas can harden pretty quickly and you want to be able to fold them like a taco (side note: these tortillas make awesome chips too).
Using a slicing grater (like this – I used the orange one), very thinly slice the apples.
To assemble to tacos, brush tortillas with BBQ sauce then layer with apple and fresh spinach. Cut your meatballs into 2 or 4 pieces and add to the taco. Finish each one off with a drizzle of BBQ sauce.
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