Fiesta Beef Skewers With Avocado and Cilantro Creme

Submitted by Susie D

"Kabobs look special & you can have a party on a plate with minimum effort. After the preparation (which can be done ahead) the recipe goes together quickly and utilizes an indoor contact grill. The meatballs are soft, so cooking on an outdoor grill would require adjustments and presoaking the bamboo skewers. I don't presoak the skewers when using a foreman style grill. 30 min prep & 30 min chill time"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 23
• Yields: 4 skewers

ingredients

• For the meatballs

• 453.59 g lean ground beef
• 118.29 ml chunky salsa, medium
• 4.92 ml cumin
• 4.92 ml chili powder
• 1.23 ml oregano
• 118.29 ml cheddar cheese, grated
• 118.29 ml panko breadcrumbs
• 0.61 ml salt
• 0.61 ml black pepper

• To assemble the skewers

• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into eight 3/4 ' thick sections
• 1 medium purple onion, cut into eight wedges
• 1 bell pepper (red or green)
• 4 bamboo skewers, 12 inches long
• cooking spray

• For the Creme

• 1 avocado
• 118.29 ml sour cream (reduced fat okay)
• 29.58 ml cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 7.39 ml fresh jalapeno, minced (or more)
• 9.85 ml lime juice
• 2.46 ml sugar
• 0.61 ml salt

directions

1. Make the meatballs. Pour all ingredients into a large bowl & mix well. Form into 16 small balls as firmly as possible. Place on plate & flatten slightly. Cover & chill at least 30 minutes. The meatballs will be soft so chilling or even flash freezing is important.
2. Make the Creme. In small bowl mash the avocado. Add remaining ingredients & stir. Chill until later.
3. Preheat indoor contact grill.
4. Assemble the skewers. The vegetables should be similar in size to the meatballs to ensure even cooking. Alternate 2 sections of zucchini, 2 peppers, 2 red onion sections and 4 meatballs onto each of four skewers. Use the curves of the vegetables to "cup" the meatballs to help hold in place. Pack the skewers tightly.
5. Spray the grill top & bottom liberally with cooking spray. Place skewers on grill & shut lid. Set timer for 7 minutes.
6. Use spatula to gently flip skewers over & rearrange position on grill from front to back. Cook for an additional 4 minutes or longer depending on your grill. The veggies should be soft & the meatballs browned.
7. Serve hot with the avocado & cilantro sauce to drizzle on top.
8. The skewers would be good served on top of rice or even in tortillas.

Reviews

[CJAY8248]

I made half this recipe and still got 4 skewers. The meatballs were good but the cooking time was way too long for my contact grill. They came out much better with just 7 minutes of cooking time. The sauce was very good and went well with the meatballs. Good luck in the contest.