The following is a recipe for chicken meatballs---my husband and I are trying to cook together a few times a week in our continuing effort to turn normal weeknights into "date nights." This has been one of our better we-are-in-a-depression-and-need-to-cut-back-on-spending ideas and we have stumbled across some good ideas!
BTW, if you are cooking more at home and relying on cookbooks, click here for an interesting article about hidden calorie dangers in following recipes at home. Apparently, some cookbooks have amped up portion sizes to compete with restaurants and our waistlines are meant to pay for the difference. I am trying to be wary of this and am considering adding calorie counts to my recipes. Any suggestions on good resources for calorie information are most welcome.
Regardless, here is our recipe for chicken meatballs. You could use turkey, but ground, 98% lean chicken breast is less gamey and lends itself well to this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken breast
1 egg
1 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dry rosemary
1 tbsp basil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp oregano
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling before baking
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix chicken, egg and seasoning completely. Add a pinch of the breadcrumbs to help bind the mixture if necessary. Using a spoon, make 12 even-sized balls (if you like smaller meatballs, make 16 and cut 2-4 minutes from the cooking time) and coat with breadcrumbs. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and cook for about 14 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Baking time may vary depending on your oven, but try to avoid overcooking so as to not dry them out. If in doubt, you can also cook the meatballs in a non-stick skillet, over medium heat, until cooked through the center.
Chet and I had the meatballs with whole wheat angel hair and a simple pomodoro sauce. He made the sauce by simply combining the following and heating all the way through:
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
Minced garlic to taste
salt
black pepper
basil
We topped off the pasta, meatballs and sauce with a little Parmesan and some black olives (we are admitted olive-philes).
It was a fun meal to make together and even more fun to eat. Your thoughts or suggestions on improvements are welcome in the comments.
I am also looking for a recipe for lamb meatballs, a la Marcie Turney's delicious starter at Bindi. We just ate at this Philly BYO there and I was reminded of why I fell in love with Turney's new twist on Indian food last year when I snaked a bite of my husband's amazing lamb meatballs stuffed with figs in a spicy, yet smooth curry. Congrats to Ms. Turney on her recent James Beard nomination and thanks in advance to anyone who has a good suggestion on how to make a similar dish.
BTW, if you are cooking more at home and relying on cookbooks, click here for an interesting article about hidden calorie dangers in following recipes at home. Apparently, some cookbooks have amped up portion sizes to compete with restaurants and our waistlines are meant to pay for the difference. I am trying to be wary of this and am considering adding calorie counts to my recipes. Any suggestions on good resources for calorie information are most welcome.
Regardless, here is our recipe for chicken meatballs. You could use turkey, but ground, 98% lean chicken breast is less gamey and lends itself well to this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken breast
1 egg
1 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
3 gloves garlic, minced
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dry rosemary
1 tbsp basil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp oregano
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling before baking
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix chicken, egg and seasoning completely. Add a pinch of the breadcrumbs to help bind the mixture if necessary. Using a spoon, make 12 even-sized balls (if you like smaller meatballs, make 16 and cut 2-4 minutes from the cooking time) and coat with breadcrumbs. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and cook for about 14 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Baking time may vary depending on your oven, but try to avoid overcooking so as to not dry them out. If in doubt, you can also cook the meatballs in a non-stick skillet, over medium heat, until cooked through the center.
Chet and I had the meatballs with whole wheat angel hair and a simple pomodoro sauce. He made the sauce by simply combining the following and heating all the way through:
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
Minced garlic to taste
salt
black pepper
basil
We topped off the pasta, meatballs and sauce with a little Parmesan and some black olives (we are admitted olive-philes).
It was a fun meal to make together and even more fun to eat. Your thoughts or suggestions on improvements are welcome in the comments.
I am also looking for a recipe for lamb meatballs, a la Marcie Turney's delicious starter at Bindi. We just ate at this Philly BYO there and I was reminded of why I fell in love with Turney's new twist on Indian food last year when I snaked a bite of my husband's amazing lamb meatballs stuffed with figs in a spicy, yet smooth curry. Congrats to Ms. Turney on her recent James Beard nomination and thanks in advance to anyone who has a good suggestion on how to make a similar dish.
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