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Million Dollar Meatball Stew

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
To kick off the New Year with a touch of luck and indulgence, I made a hearty Million Dollar Meatball Stew packed with rich, flavorful ingredients. Tender, savory meatballs simmered in a rich chicken broth, crushed and fire roasted tomatoes, with mushrooms, onions, garlic, black-eyed peas and kale. There is also some chipotles in adobo along with some warm spices like cumin, chiptole pepper, chili and oregano. This stew wasn’t just delicious - by combining pork, black-eyed peas, and greens on New Year's Day you will take part in the time-honored tradition symbolizing luck and prosperity for the year ahead.
Black-eyed peas symbolize coins, and the greens represent money. Those two ingredients as well as pork are believed to bring prosperity. Pigs also symbolize forward progress, making this dish a hit for New Year's to bring good fortune to the year to come! It's a comforting dish that I have loved and I decided to put my own spin on it with some extra spices and of course meatballs!
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Ingredients

For the Meatballs

  • ½ lb ground pork
  • ½ lb Jimmy Dean's Hot Sausage
  • 1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbs chipotles in adobo
  • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • salt & pepper to taste

For the Stew

  • 2 quarts chicken or turkey broth
  • 1 14.5 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 2 8 oz packages mushrooms diced
  • 1 small onion diced
  • ¼ cup cream sherry
  • 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
  • 1 tbs chili powder
  • 1 tbs chipotle pepper powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 bunch kale chopped finely
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Meatballs

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
  • In a bowl combine ground pork and Jimmy Dean's Hot sausage, breadcrumbs, eggs, chipotles in adobo that have been minced or blended, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper.
  • Take a small scoop of the meat mixture and roll it in your hand. Since these meatballs are going in soup be mindful of the size of the meatballs - they need to be easy to eat with a spoon.
  • Place the rolled meatballs onto a greased and foil lined baking sheet
  • Bake in the oven for 25 mins and set aside when finished cooking

For the Stew

  • In a large pot combine the chicken or turkey broth, hand-crushed whole tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, garlic, spices, and cooked black-eyed peas.
  • In a different pan sautee the mushrooms and onions until they have a little brown color on them. Depending on the heat level this can take 5-10 mins.
  • Once the mushrooms and onions have a little color, add the cream sherry to the pan to deglaze the pan and add a little more flavor to the mushrooms and onions
  • Once the alcohol has burned off add the mushrooms and onions to the broth.
  • Chop up the kale into small pieces and add that to the broth
  • When you are ready to serve, pour the stew into a bowl and add as many meatballs as you'd like and enjoy!