Nacho Cheese Dorito Meatballs

Yummy note: I knew I would like this Secret Recipe Club blog assignment this month, I mean it had "Cheese Curd" in the title!  I love my cheese curds.. well, Cheese Curd In Paradise is hosted by Ashley from Wisconsin, so, yeah go Green Bay Packers!  Shh, don't tell my Chicago Bears loving husband... Ashley mentions the Packers several times throughout her blog, so you can tell she is a true Wisconsinite with her blog name and her love of the Packers! :)  So it was a toss up between Darn Good Roast, Root Bear Pork Chops, Dulce de Leche (as I've always wanted to make that) or this- Nacho Cheese Dorito Meatloaf. Yes, it hit me at the one word, Doritos. Yes, that is a guilty pleasure I enjoy from time to time. I especially enjoy them using them in various dishes; make taco nachos, add them to a salad for some cheesy crispy when I don't have any croutons, layer them on top of pizza - aka a Taco Pizza (which is a household favorite here), and of course, use them for a bed under some chili and it's a meal. Ok, so perhaps I use Doritos a lot in my cooking, lol, but when I saw this recipe for meatloaf from Ashley at Cheese Curd In Paradise it was a new one for me and I HAD to try it. I modified the recipe just a tad and made the meatloaf into meatballs instead as they are more kid-friendly in this house (not to mention a quicker bake on busy nights).  I love having leftover meatballs for using with either spaghetti or in a meatball sub sandwich, too! These Nacho Cheese Doritos Meatballs were a nice combination of meat with a slight cheese flavor in a pool of sweet bbq sauce, yeah, now aren't you ready to try this recipe?! 

Nacho Cheese Dorito Meatballs

Ingredients: 
2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1/2 white onion, diced
1 cup Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed
1/3 bottle ketchup
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8-1/4 cup barbecue sauce (depending on how much sauce you like)
* Note:  There is no additional salt in this recipe, as the saltiness of the Nacho Cheese Doritos is enough to flavor the meatballs.





















Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then crush the Doritos to a fine crumb, similar to panko bread crumb texture. I just used a big sandwich bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. In a bowl, add in the ground beef, egg, onion, crushed Doritos, seasonings, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix and then add in the ketchup, basically adding enough ketchup to just moisten the meat mixture and stir until well combined.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and assemble the meatballs with your hands to make a nice firm ball.
















Bake for about 20 minutes and remove from oven. Drain off any excess grease or drippings in your pan and then add the barbecue sauce on top of the meatballs.

Bake for about another 15 minutes or so, depending on the size of your meatballs until they are done. I got about 2 dozen meatballs from the recipe, but if you are making this in a loaf form instead of meatballs, it will form 1 large loaf. Prepare the same way, but just adjust your baking time. For a meatloaf, bake in a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes, then top with barbecue sauce and bake for another 25-30 minutes until done.