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    Home » Main Dish Recipes » Beef Recipes

    Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs

    5 from 1 vote
    Posted September 7, 2015 (last updated February 12, 2019) by Wendy Polisi

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    This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

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    These Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs are a great easy dish for entertaining that never gets old! They work great as an appetizer or even a main course.Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs - Gluten Free - WendyPolisi.com

    Happy Labor Day!

    I suppose we all have to start somewhere. Labor Day has me thinking about my first job, at the ripe age of 16.

    Growing up in a college town, good jobs weren't always the easiest to come by. Not only were high school students competing with the more experienced college students for part time work in offices and hospitals, there was also a huge population of under-employed. That is, spouses of medical students, graduate students or even professors who had the credentials to get a "real" job but were unable to do so because the small college town had very little to offer outside of the College and Medical Field.

    As a result, my first job was in fast food.

    Rax Roast Beef to be exact.  (Though it has been over 5 years since I've had Fast Food, I've got to say that Rax might tempt me if it was still around. Though perhaps I'm romanticizing how good the sandwiches and shakes were.)

    Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs - Gluten Free - WendyPolisi.com
    You are probably expecting me to complain about it, but I loved that job. One of my best friends worked with me, and together we made friends with everyone else there. In fact, the only person I remember being unfriendly was the general manager. Looking back I'm sure she had her hands full. Babysitting a bunch of high school employees who were being directly managed by people in their early 20's couldn't have been easy.

    Regardless, I have many happy memories seeing how perky I could sound on the drive though and can remember the triumph after successfully begging the managers to let me work in back in food prep. (They liked to keep the girls up front. This was the 80's, they had no problem saying "You are cute so you should be where people can see you.")

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    This also happens to be the first time I set a big savings goal for myself. It was the summer between my Junior and Senior year of High School and my Dad had a very rare business trip scheduled late August.  (He was a government employee so this was a really big deal.)

    He was taking us with him to Atlanta and I worked my butt off that entire summer so that I could have money to buy clothes for my Senior Year.

    It's funny how you never forget something like that.

    Once I had six month's of work experience I immediately got a job in the Mall in a clothing store,  but I'll never forget the fun times I had.

    Looking back, I can see I was making the very, very best of what many would consider a miserable job. I think I could take a lesson from 16-year-old Wendy now when I'm fussing about cleaning the kitchen for the 7th time that day or reading "The Hungry Caterpillar" for the 47th time.  (Who else doesn't even need the book to recite it word for word?)
    Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs - Gluten Free - WendyPolisi.com

    It kind of makes me laugh that my first job was in food.

    What Was Your First Job?

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    Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs

    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs

    These Slow Cooker Chipotle Meatballs are a great easy dish for entertaining that never gets old! They work great as an appetizer or even a main course.

    Inspired by Family Circle
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time3 hrs 10 mins
    Total Time3 hrs 40 mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 262kcal
    Author: Wendy Polisi

    Ingredients

    • 2 pounds ground beef
    • 1 onion chopped fine
    • 1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
    • ¼ cup milk
    • 2 eggs lightly beaten
    • 1 tablespoon chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon cumin divided
    • 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt divided
    • 28 oz fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
    • ½ cup chicken broth
    • 4 cloves garlic chopped
    • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
    • 3 chipotles in adobo chopped
    • Cilantro for garnish

    Instructions

    • In a large bowl combine ground beef, onion, breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cumin and ¾ teaspoon sea salt. Using a tablespoon, scoop meat out and form into meatballs.
    • Preheat a skillet to medium and spray well with oil. Cook meatballs until browned. Coat a slow cooker with cooking spray and transfer meatballs. In a blender, combine tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic, coriander, chipotles and remaining ½ teaspoon cumin and ¾ teaspoon sea salt. Process until smooth. Pour on top of meatballs and cook on high for 3 hours.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 484mg | Potassium: 455mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 480IU | Vitamin C: 7.8mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2.7mg
    If you’ve tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the below comments, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see all my delicious recipes.

    If You Like These Slow Cooker Meatballs You May Also Like:

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    Filed Under:

    Appetizer RecipesBeef RecipesGluten Free RecipesMain Dish RecipesSlow Cooker Recipes

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    About Wendy Polisi

    Hi, I’m Wendy! I’m a cook, 5 time cookbook author, blogger, natural health enthusiast…and most importantly a mom. My boys are 16 & 17 and my late life princess is 9.

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    1. Shannon Graham

      December 16, 2017 at 11:29 pm

      5 stars
      You had me at chipotle! YUM!

      Reply

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    Hi, I’m Wendy! I’m a cook, 5 time cookbook author, blogger, natural health enthusiast…and most importantly a mom. My boys are 16 & 17 and my late life princess is 9.

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