 |
| Paired with homemade ranch sauce, these meatballs are amazing. |
Hot wings used to be my go-to at my favorite local restaurant. Unfortunately, during our last visit, I noticed a large spigot similar to something you’d attach a fire hose to on the side of the external wall where we parked. The spigot was labeled, “creamy soy.” It occurred to me that, first of all, this restaurant has its fryer oil delivered through a spigot in the side of the wall, and secondly, that “creamy soy” was probably slang for partially hydrogenated soybean oil. As it turned out, I was correct. I knew the restaurant was likely using vegetable oil to fry in, but I didn’t realize it was a trans fat. *sigh*. No more chicken wings for me, even as a treat.
 |
| Yum! |
I can make good buffalo hot wings at home with coconut oil. That said, I didn’t have any wings on hand, so today I whipped up these buffalo “hot wing” chicken meatballs with homemade ranch dressing. They were absolutely perfect! Best of all? No trans fat!
 |
| A boatload of meatballs! |
These are perfect for a quick lunch or as a party appetizer. I made 24 balls and then froze the remainder. They can be taken out individually and used as necessary that way. Having yummy food at the ready is a great way to stay on track.
Alas, here’s the recipe. Be ready to be impressed!
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Ranch Sauce
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
-1 lb. ground chicken
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
-2 T almond flour
-1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-2 T hot sauce
-2 T melted cream cheese
-2 T fresh parsley, chopped
Buffalo Sauce:
-1/4 cup hot sauce (I used Frank’s)
-2 T melted butter
Ranch Sauce:
-1/4 C mayonnaise
-1/4 C milk or half and half
-2-3 T water
-1/4 tsp. garlic powder
-Dash of onion powder
-1 T dried parsley
-1 T dried chives
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. white pepper
-Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients and squeeze together into a meaty “dough” with your hands. Make sure all ingredients are mixed through.
3. Grease a large glass casserole dish or baking sheet. Form meat mixture into 1 1/2 – 2 inch meatballs and line the bottom of the dish or pan with them so that their sides are touching.
4. Bake meatballs at 350 for about 25 minutes or until they begin to brown on top.
5. Remove from oven. Allow meatballs to cool for just a few minutes, then remove meatballs to a paper towel to cool. (This is because the liquid from the meatballs will fill the bottom of the pan. They will soak up the liquid and get soggy if you do not remove them.)
6. Prepare buffalo sauce by blending together the hot sauce and melted butter.
7. Toss the meatballs with the buffalo sauce and place them into a bowl or onto a plate. Serve with toothpicks and dunk into ranch dressing (recipe follows).
Makes about 24 meatballs.
Ranch Dressing Directions:
Combine all ranch dressing ingredients except water using a wire whisk and refrigerate the mixture for at least one hour prior to serving. Upon serving, gauge the thickness of the sauce. If it’s too thick, add in water, one tablespoon at a time, until you achieve the desired thickness.
Nutrition (per meatball, 1/24th of recipe) (includes 1 tsp. of ranch sauce):
70 calories, 1 g carb, 5 g fat, 6 g protein
