Smothered Pork Meatballs

You won’t find recipe, beans, or tortillas in this keto-friendly Mexican dish, but you will discover boatloads of flavor! Pork meatballs are seasoned with a blend of savory spices, mixed with creamy, salty cottage cheese, then simmered in a rich spiced enchilada sauce. The meatballs are topped with guacamole and fresh tomato and served along side crisp and colorful sautéed cabbage and snap peas.

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Step 1

Rough chop cabbage Remove any fibrous strings from snap peas. Have widthwise Mince garlic. Small dice Roma tomato into pieces, about 1/4-inch each.

Step 2

Place ground pork and about half of the cotija cheese in a medium bowl. Season with ancho, cumin, and oregano blend, about 1/4 tsp salt, and about 1/4 tsp pepper. Mix thoroughly to evenly distribute seasonings. *For best results, use your hands and gently fold the pork mixture into itself until the cheese and seasonings are evenly distributed.

Step 3

Form pork mixture into 12 meatballs, about 1 in in diameter

Step 4

Heat about 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add meatballs to hot pan. Sear about 3 minutes, tuning occasionally. Add spiced enchilada sauce. Cook 5-7 minutes, or until sauce has reduced by about one-third and meatballs are fully cooked, stirring occasionally. (Ground pork is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.) Remove from heat.

Step 5

heat about 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add cabbage, snap peas, and garlic to hot pan. Season with about 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes, or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.

Step 6

Make a pool of enchilada sauce on one side of each plate. Top with smothered pork meatballs. Garnish meatballs with guacamole and tomato. Serve sautéed cabbage and snap peas next to meatballs. Sprinkle cotija cheese over dishes. Enjoy!