Makes 25-30 cocktail-sized meatballs.
Tools:
- Tongs (You've gotta have tongs . . . it's a must for this recipe)
- Small Saucepan (to make hot sauce)
- Medium Stainless Steel bowl or glass dish (to put chicken mixture in)
- Sharp knife (cut the celery)
- Cutting board
- Fork (scramble the egg)
Ingredients for Balls:
- 1 lb ground chicken (or you can use whatever ground meat you want)
- 1/2 tspn ground pepper
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 Tbspns celery, finely chopped
- 3 Tbspns crumbled blue cheese
- 1/3 cup ground flaxseed (about)
- 1 egg (scramble)
- Olive Oil (this is used to oil your hands to make the balls)
Ingredients for Sauce
- 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (you can get a huge thing at Costco)
- 4 Tbspns butter, unsalted
Sides:
- Celery sticks
- Blue Cheese Dressing (click on link for recipe) - Low Carb
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Grease cookie sheet with raised edges (don't use the air cookie sheets) with spray olive oil, butter or olive oil. I used aluminum foil also, which you can do, but it's best to put balls on greased cookie sheet rather than greased aluminum foil. The 2nd time you bake the balls with the sauce on them, they stick to the foil.
- For better handling for making the balls, put the ground chicken in the freezer for about an hour. You want it ever so slightly frozen, but not really. If you don't have the time for this, that's alright.
- Mix all ingredients for Balls together with hands, making sure everything is mixed well. Using hands is better than using a mixer or spoon. If the mixture is too moist, add more ground flaxseed. The mixture should not be a sloppy mess. Take a teaspoon and scoop a heaping spoonful and it should hold together well. If not, use more flaxseed. Be careful, don't overdo the flaxseed.
- Oil hands with olive oil. This will make handling the balls easier.
- Scoop a heaping teaspoonful of chicken mixture. Use hands to better form in ball. These are cocktail sized balls. Repeat until mixture is all gone.
- Bake for 11-12 min. Remove from oven.
- While Balls are baking, you can make the sauce. Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan and bring to boil on medium heat, until all butter is melted.
You gotta add the butter. Just the hot sauce makes it not taste as good. 
Right after baking the first time 
If you don't use foil & grease the cookie sheet, that is much better
- When the balls are done baking, using tongs, dip the balls into the hot sauce mixture and return the balls to the baking pan. Make sure the whole ball is covered with the hot sauce. Don't pour the sauce over the balls as this wastes the sauce, as it will burn in the oven without the meat.
Right before going into oven 2nd time - Return the balls to the oven to bake another 12-13 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Place in dish to serve. You can pour any remaining leftover sauce over the meatballs at this point. It makes it look much better if you do.
- Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.
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| If you poured the sauce over it, any not on the balls burns in the oven |
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| Out of oven 2nd time with no additional hot sauce |
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| With Additional Hot Sauce Poured Over Balls |
Notes: These were a huge hit and when I made them (2 batches of this recipe) of about 60 balls, my kids ate most of them, so I had to make 3 more batches enough for my life group. So, double or tripling this recipe would be a great idea. You don't have to be exact with most of the ingredients, but take it easy on adding eggs, as this makes the mixture really moist and hard to form into balls. The ground flaxseed helps bind the balls so they don't fall apart, and it's good fiber. You cannot taste the flaxseed at all.
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