Tasty Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Last week I had a pound of ground chicken and didn’t know what to do with it. Enter Rachael Ray with her Buffalo Chicken Meatballs recipe. I realize this is more of an appetizer, but it worked. This would be something great to make for entertaining around the holidays.



Ingredients:
1 pound ground all-white-meat chicken
1/2 small onion, grated (I used the whole thing)
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 cup parsley, chopped (I used dry parsley)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
2 tablespoons butter (I used margarine b/c we didn’t have butter)
1/2 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's brand
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
3 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced, for garnish
A couple of handfuls of celery sticks
A couple of handfuls of carrot sticks
Toothpicks, for serving

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken with the onion, garlic and parsley and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Flatten out the meat in the bowl and score it into four portions using the side of your hand. Shape each portion into four balls you should have sixteen meatballs in total.

Wash your hands after handling the raw poultry.

Arrange the meatballs on a nonstick sheet pan and drizzle them with EVOO. Place in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through and golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the hot sauce and whisk to combine. Toss the baked meatballs in the hot sauce to coat.

Mix together the buttermilk, sour cream, blue cheese and most of the chopped scallions.

Transfer the meatballs to a serving platter and spike each one with a toothpick or serving fork. Place the blue cheese dressing in a small serving bowl and garnish with scallions. Serve the meatballs with the blue cheese dressing, celery and carrot sticks alongside.