Tapas Meatballs with Orange Glaze

Name: Tapas Meatballs with Orange Glaze
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 16 meatballs.
Ingredients: 1 egg, lightly beaten; 1/4 cup ketchup; 1 small onion, finely chopped; 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs; 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley; 3 teaspoons paprika; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean); 2-1/2 ounces feta cheese, cut into sixteen 1/2-in. cubes; GLAZE:; 1 jar (12 ounces) orange marmalade; 1/4 cup orange juice; 3 green onions, chopped, divided; 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

Crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, these baked cheese-stuffed appetizers are drizzled with a tasty sweet-sour glaze. —Bonnie Stallings, Martinsburg, West Virginia

Ingredients

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
3 teaspoons paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
2-1/2 ounces feta cheese, cut into sixteen 1/2-in. cubes
GLAZE:
1 jar (12 ounces) orange marmalade
1/4 cup orange juice
3 green onions, chopped, divided
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Divide into 16 portions; flatten. Top each with a cheese cube; form beef mixture around cheese into meatballs.
Place on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until no longer pink. In a small saucepan, heat the marmalade, orange juice, half of the green onions and the jalapeno.
Place meatballs in a serving dish; pour glaze over the top and gently stir to coat. Garnish with remaining green onions.
Freeze option: Freeze cooled meatball mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Microwave, covered, on high in a microwave-safe dish until heated through, gently stirring and adding a little water if necessary. Meanwhile, combine and heat glaze ingredients as directed. Serve over meatballs.

Editor's Note

Wear disposable gloves when cutting hot peppers; the oils can burn skin. Avoid touching your face.

Nutrition Facts

1 each: 127 calories, 3g fat (2g saturated fat), 33mg cholesterol, 206mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate (15g sugars, 1g fiber), 7g protein.

Originally published as Tapas Meatballs with Spicy Orange Glaze in Taste of Home February/March 2010

Reviews

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Average Rating:

nadine55

Dec 29, 2013

Tasty. Needs more spice
tamarachronister

Jan 13, 2012

I cook the meatballs in a fry pan until all the pink is gone, and they turn out moist. Also, a way you could get around the jalapeno peppers is to buy several, wash, cut in half and take the seeds out. Put them in the freezer, along with other things like green onions that have been chopped. I do this with foods that I don't use that often.With the economy the way it is, I don't waste much of anything. With extra onions, I sauteed a bag of them in olive oil and bagged and froze them also. Great for soups!! Shred zuchinni and freeze it - You can squeeze lemons and put the juice in the small ice cube trays and pop them out and put them in a baggie. There's no limit to what you can store in small amounts .... it's so handy to be able to make a recipe at a moment's notice and have all the ingredients!!
tamarachronister

Jan 13, 2012

I tried it with half orange marmalade and half apricot preserves. Didn't like it at all - it had no flavor. Are you sure you made it according to the recipe.
tamarachronister

Jun 26, 2011

I made this recipe for a pot luck, where there was tons of food. There was a lot of leftovers, but not one meatball to be found. We even had left over pizza!! This has become a regular in our house - and now friends are requesting it at gatherings!Excellent!
tamarachronister

Apr 3, 2011

Bonnie, I think this is a great recipe! I tried it with all orange marmalade and loved it. The next time I made it, I used the rest of the marmalade and some apricot jam - and it lost its tang. My husband and I love it - the suprise of feta cheese in the middle - wow, delicious!! I buy extra fresh jalapenos and wash, halve, deseed, and freeze them so I have them available all the time. Freezing seems to take a little of the bite out of them, and makes it just right. These are a regular at our house now. When my husband requests these, I know he really likes them!
chris and jenn

Feb 19, 2011

The orange marmalade was weird. If I ever made it again I would try apricot or something.
SMQMC

Feb 16, 2011

This actually isn't a bad recipe, but I found it rather dry. If you read the ingredients, you can see there's very little liquid in it. That being said, I might make it again by adding some milk or even some extra orange juice to the meat mixture. It's also inconvenient to make if you don't happen to have a single jalapeno pepper handy! I suppose you could use some from a small can of jalapenos, but then you would need another recipe to use the leftover peppers. Just my thoughts on the subject, but this could be a good recipe with a little "tweaking" here and there.
Missbugsolena2

Feb 7, 2011

Made these last night for the superbowl celebration...not good, I'm glad I had a lot of other choices.
gina_h

Jan 1, 2011

Very good!
Salt Water Girl

Aug 14, 2010

Wow! this one is a crowd pleaser!! I made this last night for a birthday party and there was not a single one left!. I followed the recipe exactly, I just used tangerine juice instead of orange juice and I baked it for only 10 minutes in the convection mode.