This recipe came from: https://www.rebootedmom.com/mexican-albondigas-soup-instant-pot-recipe/
*Pic 1 - https://www.rebootedmom.com/mexican-albondigas-soup-instant-pot-recipe/
Variations from Recipe as Written: I made one VERY important change to the posted recipe... I substituted Mexican chorizo for half of the ground beef (so, the meatballs included 1/2-pound ground beef and 1/2-pound chorizo).General Thoughts: While the cooking on this one was a piece of cake (thanks to the Instant Pot), the prep was a little involved... I had some awesome help from my friend Lisa, who did all the chopping/dicing, so that was nice, but mixing and rolling the meatballs was a chore. Now, you might be saying to yourself, "Well, yeah dumbdumb, rolling meatballs is a chore." But, in my defense, the chunks of onion and green pepper, along with the wetness of the chorizo, made it difficult for me to get dense, consistent meatballs. Those of you pro meatball-makers out there may have some tips for us to use in the future, but I did the best I could with these. They still came out okay (even if they weren't perfect). :-)
*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it
Potential Improvements? Next time, I think I'll go for a smaller dice on the onions and peppers in the meatballs. Although it did not call for it, using cheese as a garnish would add some stringy, salty goodness that would just enhance the flavor. And, as Jayson specifically mentioned, making some crispy tortilla strips to go on top (and add that needed texture component) would be great!
The taste of this one was solid overall. It didn't scorch my taste buds, as I left it somewhat mild to better appeal to the non-fire eaters in the group, but the tastes blended well. It turned out like a yummy Mexican vegetable soup, with rice and meatballs. The meatballs themselves were yummy, but a little unremarkable, particularly considering they were half chorizo. I expected to get a big hit of chorizo taste in each bite (of both the meatballs themselves and the soup overall), but it was subtle.
The rice was an important ingredient in making this a hearty selection, as it would been a bit thin without it. But, what the rice did not help with was the texture. While the texture wasn't a bad thing, per se, it was a little uniform and lacked variety. The rice was soft, the veggies were soft, the meatballs were soft... So, completely palatable, but in need of some textural diversity to make it more interesting.
The rice was an important ingredient in making this a hearty selection, as it would been a bit thin without it. But, what the rice did not help with was the texture. While the texture wasn't a bad thing, per se, it was a little uniform and lacked variety. The rice was soft, the veggies were soft, the meatballs were soft... So, completely palatable, but in need of some textural diversity to make it more interesting.
Potential Improvements? Next time, I think I'll go for a smaller dice on the onions and peppers in the meatballs. Although it did not call for it, using cheese as a garnish would add some stringy, salty goodness that would just enhance the flavor. And, as Jayson specifically mentioned, making some crispy tortilla strips to go on top (and add that needed texture component) would be great!
Polling the Fam: I liked this one and, with the suggested improvements, I'd make it again. Becky was not very brave and only tried one bite of a meatball, but said the texture turned her off. Jayson said he really liked the whole thing, calling it one of the best soups he's eaten for this project. He said the hint of spice as just perfect, and he suggested cheese and crunchy tortilla strips as improvements. Micah said she liked it overall, but the flavor was strong and needed something to cut it.
Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)
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