Spicy "Buffalo Chicken" Meatballs with Creamy Blue Cheese Dip

*Winning recipe of BSI (Blogger Secret Ingredient) Hot Sauce/Wing Sauce contest, February 2011*

I saw this recipe on Friends for Weight Loss about a month ago...it had been posted by Danica.  I thought it looked like a way to enjoy buffalo style hot wings, without all the fat and guilt associated with them.  I was right.  I tweaked the recipe just a bit and served it up with some simple lightened up blue cheese dip.  It left my mouth burning just a bit...which was just what I wanted!

There is no chicken in this version, I opted to use readily available ground turkey breast.  Be sure to use the ground turkey breast in this recipe, and not the plain ground turkey ( which includes dark meat and has a higher fat content ).  I  used Frank's Redhot Wings Sauce to top them with, but if you can't find the wings sauce, you could use Frank's Original RedHot Sauce instead.  To portion out the meatballs perfectly, I used my handy cookie dough scoop, which made approximately 24 -2 "meatballs. 

Spicy "Buffalo Chicken" Meatballs with Creamy Blue Cheese Dip adapted from Friends for Weight Loss

Servings - 8   Servings size - 3 meatballs ( approx 2" each)  and  2 TBS  blue cheese dip   Points plus per svg - 2 points+ for the meatballs and 1point+ for the dip  ( total of 3 points+ for both) 

Nut info for meatballs ( 3 ) :  Calories - 96.6,   Total Fat - 1.1g,   Carb. - 6.2g,   Protein - 15g,  Fiber - 0.6 

Nut info for dip (2 TBS):  Calories - 26.5,   Total Fat - 1g,   Carb. - 1.2g,   Protein - 3.3g,  Fiber - 0g

For Meatballs:

1.25 pounds of Ground Turkey Breast

1 small onion, finely diced

1 medium carrot, finely diced

1 medium stalk celery, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs, plain

1/4 cup eggbeaters

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper. ground

1/2 cup ( or more to taste) Frank's Redhot Wings sauce

For Creamy Blue Cheese Dip:

1 cup plain, nonfat Greek-style yogurt

1 oz. crumbled blue cheese

1 TBSP skim milk

several dashes of Worcestershire sauce

pinch of salt

1.  To make dip:  Combine all ingredients.  Set in refrigerator to allow flavors to blend while preparing meatballs.  

2.  To make meatballs:  In med nonstick  skillet, over med heat, spray skillet with cooking spray and saute the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.  ( To finely dice the vegetables, it's easiest to put them all in a food processor and chop)  Take off heat and allow to cool slightly.  

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In large bowl, combine the ground turkey breast, bread crumbs, eggbeaters, salt, pepper, cayenne and the softened vegetables.   Mix well.  Form into 24-2" meatballs.  

4. In same skillet you softened the vegetables in, spray with cooking spray again, and brown meatballs on all sides. ( they do not have to be cooked all the way through)  Place  browned meatballs onto a cookie sheet.   Pour Frank's Redhot Wings Sauce onto the meatballs, and put into oven to finish cooking.  Bake for approx 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatballs reads 165 degrees.  

5.  Serve with blue cheese dip and celery sticks. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE