Chicken (or Turkey) Parmesan Meatballs

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

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. Set top oven rack in the upper third part of oven.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Heat the remaining pizza sauce in a small saucepan and serve on the side.