HEINZ Beans Canada: Chili Con Carne Meatballs

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Chili Con Carne Meatballs

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 253 Calories, 19.6 g protein, 5.9 g fat, 31.6 g carbohydrate, 5.8 g fibre, 340 mg sodium. Good source of Vitamin C (23% DV). Excellent source of iron (32% DV), zinc (32% DV), Niacin (27% DV).

2	slices whole wheat bread, torn
¼ cup (50 mL)	chopped green onion
1	large egg
2 tsp (10 mL)	each chili powder and dried oregano
½ tsp (2 mL)	pepper
1 can (14 oz/398 mL)	HEINZ^® Chili Style Beans
1 lb (500 g)	extra lean ground beef, crumbled
¼ cup (50 mL)	corn kernels
Sauce:
2 cans (14 oz/398 mL each)	HEINZ^® No Salt Added Tomato Sauce
¼ cup (50 mL)	each finely chopped green pepper, green onion and brown sugar
2 tbsp (30 mL)	each HEINZ^® Cider Vinegar and HEINZ^® Worcestershire Sauce
2	cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL)	pepper
Pinch	salt

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Pulse bread in a food processor until crumbly. Add the green onion, egg, chili powder, oregano and pepper and pulse until combined. Add the beans and pulse until combined but still chunky. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Crumble in the beef and corn and gently blend with the bean mixture using your hands.

Form into 1 ½-in (4 cm) balls. Set meatballs on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until digital instant read thermometer reads 160°F (71°C) when inserted into several meatballs. Cool for 10 minutes. Tranfer to a casserole dish.

Sauce: Stir tomato sauce with green pepper, green onion, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, garlic, pepper and salt. Pour over the meatballs. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Makes 8 servings.

1.	For a healthy supper, serve with cooked brown or white rice and steamed green veggies.
2.	For a pantry substitution, use 3 cups (750 mL) regular tomato sauce instead of HEINZ^® No Salt Added, adjust seasonings to taste.
3.	For a freezer version, double the batch of meatballs and transfer the second cooked batch to a clean baking sheet. Freeze until solid then transfer to re-sealable storage bags. Reheat the meatballs from frozen, adding 30 minutes to the baking time.
4.	For a meatball hero, serve the meatballs on a whole wheat hoagie roll and top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.