Taco Meatball Ring

With every day that passes without an oven I become more and more grateful that I can dutch oven cook.  Its not just for camping or emergencies!  Although I think that not having an oven could qualify as an emergency sometimes.  But not for me because I spent last year preparing for just such an occasion!  I'm actually quite pleased that we aren't eating out every night. (Not that we would, I'm way to cheap for that.)  Nor are we relegated only to what I can make in a skillet or slow cooker.  (Although there's been some of that.)  Nope!  Nothing has changed, oven or not!

This recipe is a fun twist on tacos.  It is also really easy.  This will go into the camping category for sure!  I used 1 dutch oven for the whole meal, but it would be faster if you used one oven to cook the meatballs and one to cook the actual dish.  But its up to you.

Taco Meatball Ring
12" dutch oven

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

3 Tbs. water
4 Tbs. taco seasoning
1 lb. ground beef
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomato
Sliced green onions
Sliced black olives
Sliced jalapeno peppers
Sour cream and salsa

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of cheese, water and taco seasoning. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 16 balls.

Place the meatballs in a dutch oven and bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Use 2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  Drain the meatballs on paper towels. Pour the grease out and wipe the oven clean.  (I let it cool for a few minutes so I could handle the oven.)

Arrange the crescent rolls in your dutch oven,  forming a ring with the pointed ends facing the outer edge of the pan and the wide ends overlapping.

Place a meatball on each roll. Fold the point over the meatball and tuck under the wide end of the roll. The meatball will still be visible. Repeat with all the meatballs. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.  Use 1 1/2 rings + a few coals on top and 1 ring on the bottom.

Serve with lettuce, chopped tomato, olives, jalapenos, green onions, sour cream and salsa.

The Finished Product





The Review

This was really good.  Especially if you're a meatball connoisseur like I am.  Next time I'll just serve it out of the dutch oven instead of on a serving platter.  It took 4 large spatulas and a few extra arms to get it out in one piece.  It was totally not worth taking it out of the pan just to save a few dirty dishes.  But we'll be having this again for sure.  My kiddos loved it!  Grade A.