Meatballs wrapped in Bacon with a Cream Cheese filling

My, oh my, these are little beauts! Tasty, meaty little bites with a surprise in the middle and just a hint of chili…

These meatballs wrapped in bacon with a cream cheese filling are perfect for lunchboxes, picnics or as a sun-downer snack.

I don’t know about you, but I often battle to get more fat into my diet… {If you’re leading a High Fat, Low Carb lifestyle (HFLC)}

As I stared into the fridge and the packet of mince I was meant to use, I just thought – ugh, mince…

After a bit of staring, a cup of tea, and some more staring, I came up with these stunning little meatballs, using staples that should always be in your fridge.
Not only are they tasty and a bit different from the usual ol’ meatball, but you get some extra fats in, which is great.

And besides, we all know bacon makes everything extra good! 😉

Here’s what you’ll need:

{Makes 24 meatballs}

1/2 kg minced meat {I used venison}

1/2 onion, grated

3 medium courgettes, grated

1 egg

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 bird’s eye chili, finely chopped

1 tsp Peppadew spice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 block of cream cheese, cubed {24 small pieces}

250g streaky bacon {I got 14 rashers in my packet – you should halve them}

Mix all the ingredients, except the bacon and cream cheese together.

Lay all the bacon rashers onto a board and start rolling your meatballs. They should be just bigger than bite-sized – just to cover the piece of cream cheese.

You can do it in this manner:
Roll meatball
Insert cream cheese
Roll again to ensure cheese is trapped inside
Wrap it in the bacon, letting the ends overlap
Place on a baking tray with the bacon-ends-side down

Bake at 160C for 20 minutes, to allow the meatball to cook properly without burning, almost slow-cooking it.

Then, crank the oven up to 180C and bake for another 15 minutes, to get the bacon more crispy and give the whole meatball a lovely golden colour.