Hidden Rainbow Albondigas

I saw this recipe in a recent issue of Cooking Light. This was one of the category finalists for the family dinners section of their recipe contest. I have seen other recipes for Albondigas and thought that they sounded really interesting, but I really loved the amount of vegetables that were in this particular recipe. I changed a couple of things like using fresh bell peppers instead of frozen and using only chicken broth, instead of some chicken and some beef. I also just used a regular onion instead of a sweet onion becauce that is what I had on hand.
This dinner did take awhile to put together, but it got alot of raves and made such a large amount that we had 2 meals worth of leftovers. My kids loved the meatballs and even the other adults thought the soup had great flavor and wanted to eat it warmed up later.
We really liked this and I can see why it was one of the finalists in the contest.

Hidden Rainbow Albondigas adapted from Cooking Light
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bell peppers, diced (I used red and orange)
3/4 cup diced carrot
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
3 (32-ounce) cartons fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups shredded yellow squash
1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pepper stir-fry to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, chiles, and broths; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until carrot is tender.
2. Place one-third of broth mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining broth mixture. Return to pan.
3. Combine chicken, pork, squash, cilantro, 1/4 cup rice, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and egg in a food processor; process 30 seconds or until blended. Bring broth mixture to a boil. Drop meat mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls (about 45 meatballs) into broth mixture. Add remaining 1/2 cup rice to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until meatballs are done. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir in juice.

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