2013 has been…interesting…so far. How ’bout for you? Going back to work after several “short” weeks is always a little rough, but add to that a new boss and a ton of changes on the first day, and things get interesting really quickly. Good thing at the end of the day I can go home where it’s nice and familiar, and sit down to a good meal.
Chicken Parmesan is a pretty popular Italian dish, and even though I’m not a huge fan of red sauce, I like some chicken parm from time to time. So, when I saw a recipe for chicken parm meatballs, I figured I’d give it a shot. And then, when I went to pull the ground chicken out of the freezer, I remembered that the grocery store was out when I went shopping. Great. Luckily for me, I had a package of Italian seasoned ground turkey, though! So, I decided a little modification wouldn’t hurt. Ground chicken, ground turkey…both are healthy!
I was a little skeptical at first about making the meatballs so large, but decided to trust the recipe and go for it. I wound up with 10 large meatballs, which made plenty for dinner, lunch, and another lunch, shared with a friend. I couldn’t eat more than 3 meatballs in one sitting, but I also paired them with brown rice. I intended to also have a salad, but that didn’t happen.
The flavor was delicious…with the seasonings in the meat, the pizza sauce, and the mozzarella on top. Definitely a great weeknight meal, that’s healthy to boot!
Chicken (or Turkey) Parmesan Meatballs
Source: Dinner: A Love Story
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken (or ground turkey)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian seasoned)
- 2 Tbsp chopped onion
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 egg, whisked
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 14-ounce can or jar storebought pizza sauce
- 4 oz shredded mozzarella
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. Set top oven rack in the upper third part of oven.
- Combine the chicken (or turkey) through the lemon zest in a large bowl, using your hands, until well combined. Form into balls a little larger than a golf ball (not quite as big as a tennis ball) and place on the prepared baking sheet, a few inches apart from each other.
- In a separate small bowl, mix one spoonful of pizza sauce with the olive oil, then brush the mixture on top of each meatball. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove meatballs from oven, and set the oven to broil. Spoon some of the remaining pizza sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a sprinkle of cheese. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.
- Heat the remaining pizza sauce in a small saucepan and serve on the side.
USA Kiwi (Kylee)
Those look AWESOME!!
I want to make minis and serve them as apps!!
Jey
Glad to hear this meal was a winner. I've had my eye on it for a while!