photo credit: earl and pearl

It’s no surprise that the creamy dips, greasy chips, fried finger foods, and super-sized sandwiches usually served at Superbowl parties are not diet or health-friendly. The good news is that with a few recipe makeovers, all the flavors of football can be savored without wreaking havoc on your New Year’s weight-loss resolutions. So today, I’m sharing one of the YUMMIEST meatball recipes EVER. These Crock Pot BBQ Meatballs are crazy delicious and still pretty low in Points Total. They are a perfect Superbowl party food that will be adored by weight watchers and non-weight watchers alike. They stay nice and warm and moist in your crock pot, and the spicy BBQ sauce adds such a nice flavor to the meat. And with just a 2 Point Total per serving, these make a great appetizer recipe. Or, double the size of your meatballs, and serve it as a main dish recipe! Though not an official one of Weight Watchers Superbowl Recipes, these barbecue meatballs will definitely be a hit with all weight watching Superbowl snackers, and makes a great Superbowl party food idea.

Crock pot BBQ Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup uncooked quick oats
- 1/4 cup dry red wine
- 1/4 cup liquid egg whites
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the meat, eggs, garlic, parsley, oregano, onions, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, soften the oats with the wine for 10 minutes Add the oats and wine to the meat mixture and mix well – you will need to do this with your hands in order to get everything incorporated well. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Shape meatball mixture into sixty 1-inch balls; place on baking sheet.
Bake at 350ºF until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a crock pot to keep warm. Meanwhile, heat barbecue sauce and beef broth over medium-high heat until hot. Pour sauce over cooked meatballs, toss gently and serve. For parties, I just set the crock pot up on the food table, set on warm.

Entire recipe makes 30 servings
Serving size is 2 meatballs
Each serving = 2 Point Total

Albóndigas, which means meatballs in Spanish, are found in Sopa de Albondigas, a popular food dish that originated in Mexico. In this recipe, the meatballs are made with rice in them and the broth is usually chicken based. The following vegetables are commonly used in this dish: onion, carrots, potatoes, squashes, chayote and seasonings such as cilantro, mint, salt and garlic.

When mixing the rice and meat together, I’d recommend adding raw eggs so that when the meatballs are dropped into the boiling pot they will stiffen a bit and won’t break apart on you! Though, if you add the eggs, just remember to count in those extra Weight Watchers Points!

If you want to bulk up this dish for the non-dieters, you can follow the tradition of the Mexican Northwest, by accompanying the dish with warm rolled tortillas topped with mayonnaise and salsa. Yum!

Albondigas Recipe

1/2 pound ground chuck
1/2 onion – minced
2 cloves garlic – minced
1/4 cup instant rice – uncooked
1 egg
Salt and pepper — to taste
4 ounces chopped green chilies –canned, drained
1 carrot – shredded
14 1/2 ounces stewed tomatoes – canned
4 cups hot water
2 cups lowfat beef broth — or water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley – or cilantro

In a bowl, combine beef, onion, garlic, rice, egg, salt and pepper to taste. Form into 1 1/2″ meatballs. Place chilies and shredded carrots in bottom of slow cooker. Spoon tomatoes evenly on top. Place meatballs on top of tomatoes. Pour in water, broth, oregano and parsley or cilantro. Cover and cook on LOW 5 1/2 to 6 hours. Garnish this popular Mexican soup with sprigs of fresh cilantro or mint, and serve with flour tortillas.

Per serving: 121 Calories (kcal); 7g Total Fat; 7g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 45mg Cholesterol; 48mg Sodium

Weight Watchers Points Value = 3 (WW Points)