Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

What do you do when the Super Bowl happens to have the Patriots in it, and it also happens to fall on your sports-obsessed sister's birthday?  Obviously the answer is that you throw her a party, even if you weren't feeling the greatest.  And it also means that you probably have to put on some plastic gloves and make buffalo chicken meatballs.

The cool part about these is that they are actually healthy (I got the recipe from Skinny Taste).  There are lots of "hidden" vegetables that you can sneak in there for the carnivores, like celery, carrot and scallion.  They get minced up tiny and mixed in with the meat, garlic and panko.  Then they get baked and slathered in your choice of buffalo sauce.  Nick, being a buffalo sauce expert, requested two different batches, one with regular buffalo and one with some sort of sweet and spicy sauce.  Hey, what did I care?  I wasn't eating them, so I agreed.  The recipe calls for a drizzle of bleu cheese on top of the meatballs, but I left out dipping bowls in case people didn't like it.  This made for some messy bowls, but I think it was still a good decision.

Considering there were only 3 meatballs left after the party - and they had to compete with wings from The Hangar - I'd say they were pretty popular with the birthday girl and her guests!

Recipe:

buffalo chicken meatballs
from Skinny Taste

Servings: 26 • Size: 1 meatball  • Old Points: 1 pts • Weight Watcher Points+: 1 pt 
Calories: 37 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 1 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 4 g • Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 135 mg (without salt)  • Cholest: 26 mg


Ingredients:
oil spray
1 1/4 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup panko crumbs
1 large egg
2 scallions, chopped
1/3 cup finely minced celery
1/3 cup finely minced carrot
1 clove crushed garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/3 cup buffalo hot sauce of your choice
1/4 cup blue cheese dressing

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil.

2) In a large bowl, combine the chicken, panko crumbs, egg, scallions, celery, carrot, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Using clean hands, mix until combined.  Roll the mixture (1/8 cup each) into 26 meatballs.

3) Place meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and bake until cooked through and golden, about 16 to 18 minutes.

4) Place meatballs in a bowl, add the buffalo sauce and gently toss to combine.  Serve immediately, drizzled with bleu cheese dressing if desired.