Jalapeno Stuffed BBQ Meatballs: Chopped Challenge - Tomato Paste

Technically the Radish won the vote for the Chopped Challenge ingredient; however, I couldn't find it at the store today, so I went with the second place Tomato Paste.  The daylight savings time has really thrown off my cooking for the blog.  It's dark so early, it's almost impossible to take any good pictures of my food.  I don't have any fancy equipement or lights, so I rely a lot on the natural sunlight.  I decided to wait and make this over the weekend to ensure I had enough light for my photos.

These meatballs are stuffed with cream cheese and jalapenos, baked, and then dunked into the homemade BBQ sauce.  They are the perfect treat for a Sunday afternoon while watching football.  The great part about this recipe is that you could prepare everything ahead of time, and then bake them right before your guests arrived.  It's also super cheap, and with just a pound of meat you get tons of meatballs.  Be sure not to stuff them too much, or they will explode in the oven. You also don't want them to be too big.  They are meant to be a small treat before supper, not a whole meal in itself.



 BBQ Sauce: 
3 oz. Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar 
1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
1/2 Bottle of dark beer
2 Tbs. Mustard
1 Tsp. Vinegar
1/4 Cup Onion - minced
3 Cloves Garlic- minced
salt and pepper

1.  Begin by sauteing the finely minced onion and garlic.   Once the onion and garlic have cooked for a few minutes, add in the tomato paste, brown sugar, chicken broth, beer, mustard, and vinegar.  Cook over medium-high heat and continue cooking until it reduces by half.

2.  If your sauce becomes too thick, just add more beer or stock to thin it out.  Also taste it once it's reduced and season with salt and pepper as needed.  Keep the sauce on Low heat on the stove while your meatballs cook in the oven.

Cream Cheese: 
8 oz. Cream cheese- room temperature
2 Jalapenos - minced

1.  Mince the jalapenos, making sure to remove the seeds and the pith from the inside.  Make sure to mice the jalapeno finely so that there are little pieces in all of the meatballs.  Mix with the cream cheese and set aside until ready to make the meatballs.

Meatballs: 
1 lb. Ground Chuck
1 Egg
3 Slices Bread - soaked in milk
1/4 Cup Onion - minced
salt and pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and begin soaking the bread slices in milk.  In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onions, egg, bread, salt, and pepper.  Mix with your hands (yes it feels gross), to make sure everything is well combined.

2.  Take about 2 Tbs. of the raw meat mixture and about 1/2 tsp of the cream cheese mixture and place it in the middle.  Form into a ball, making sure the meatball is closed all the way around.  Place on a cookie sheet lined in foil.

3.  Bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.  I like mine to start forming a bit of a crust before I take them out of the oven.

4.  Place the meatballs into the BBQ sauce you made earlier, and allow them to simmer over low heat and serve.