Albondigas - My Way

This recipe was a spur of the moment when I needed to cook up a mighty big Costco package of super lean ground beef. I made several dishes & this was the star - so much so DH kept saying, "Now where did you get this really good sausage?", as he went for this soup. He asked for it again, soon, so I reckoned I had better write it down. The spice from the meatballs really nicely permeated the soup. Gets better the next 2 days - beyond that I dunno as it is tee totally gone. Will try it with diced canned tomatoes next. FTR I used freeze dried onion & corn from Honeyville Grains - same measurements ( http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/freezedriedvegetables.aspx ) - I am really enjoying their freeze dried vegetables & steel cut oats. Do chill the meatballs & broth - this enables one to really reduce the fat content but doesn't sacrifice the flavor at all. I think I am going to make a triple batch & freeze the meatballs in broth - eliminating the chilling part of the preparation. Double it & freeze one - it's that good.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• Meatballs

• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef
• 3⁄4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1  egg, beaten
• 1⁄2 cup  breadcrumbs
• 2  teaspoons cumin seeds, whole
• 2  teaspoons garlic, granulated
• 2  chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
• 2  teaspoons kosher salt

• Soup

• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 1  cup celery, finely chopped
• 1  cup brown rice, cooked
• 1  cup  sweet corn (1 can)
• 2  teaspoons oregano, dried
• 8  cups beef broth
• 28  ounces tomatoes, crushed
• 1⁄2 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Meatballs:.
2. Lightly but thoroughly mix all the ingredients with the ground beef.
3. Form into pecan sized balls & lightly brown in skillet.
4. Place meatballs in refrigeratable (sp?) container large enough to hold meatballs & broth.
5. Deglaze pan with several cups of the beef broth. Pour all the broth over the meatballs. Refrigerate several hours.
6. Soup:.
7. Take chilled beef broth & meatballs from the refrigerator.
8. Remove chilled fat from the top of the broth & discard except for one tablespoon.
9. Saute the onion, celery & oregano in the one tablespoon reserved fat.
10. Add the cooked rice, sweet corn, beef broth & tomatoes.
11. Simmer 30 minutes - adjust seasonings to taste, remove from heat & stir in cilantro. Serve with crispy twisty toasted tortilla strips on top.