Wingin’ it: Chicken & Herb Mini Meatballs

I was on a mission to try this simple recipe for tomato sauce, and had ground chicken defrosted in my fridge.  So tonight, chicken & herb meatballs were born.  This was me freestyling in the kitchen and I’m pretty proud of how they turned out.  For almost fat-free ground chicken, these little balls of flavor are moist and pair well with the Smitten Kitchen tomato sauce.

For the meatballs, gather 1 lb ground chicken, 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1/2 cup parsley, 1/4 cup basil, 1 small yellow onion, salt & pepper.

Before mixing up my chicken & herb meatballs, I started my sauce.  I followed the recipe, but substituted light butter for regular, added 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and left the onion in my finished sauce.

For the meatballs, finely chop the onion, parsley, and basil.  Add egg, panko breadcrumbs, and ground chicken.  Mix until just combined.

Form into 1 – 1.5 inch balls.

Before cooking, roll chicken balls in flour to coat.

At first, I was flouring them assembly line style – rolling them in flour, adding to pan, repeat.  I found it way easier to have them all ready to go, so for my second batch I scratched the assembly flour line!  This prevents uneven cooking since you can add them all to the pan at once.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat.  Cook chicken meatballs until brown, then turn – use discretion here because this is not an exact science!  They should be 80% cooked when you remove them from the pan and add them to your tomato sauce.  I cooked my second batch all the way through since I planned to freeze them for another night.

They cook up pretty quickly!  Golden brown and ready to go into the simmering tomato sauce!

The second batch I put on a foil-lined baking sheet and placed in the freezer for 1 hour, then put them in a freezer bag.  When I reheat these, I will make a new batch of tomato sauce and add these in to defrost in the sauce.  I’m a virgo, I love planning ahead!

My freezer is packed.  Note to self: eat junk out of freezer stat!

Simmer the meatballs in (preferably Smitten Kitchen’s) tomato sauce for about 10-15 minutes.  Serve over your pasta of choice and top with parmesan cheese and parsley.  YUM!

These turned out amazingly well.  I either hit home runs or completely strike out when making up new recipes…there is no in between for me!  The tomato sauce with onion and butter is my new favorite sauce.  It’s CHEAPER and WAY. MORE. DELICIOUS. than jar sauce (ew).  I grew up eating my mom’s homemade tomato sauce (she’s allergic to tomatoes = the horror!) and am not a huge fan of anything jarred.

Chicken & Herb Mini Meatballs

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Finely chop the onion, parsley, and basil.  Add egg, panko breadcrumbs, and ground chicken.  Mix until just combined.  Form into 1 – 1.5 inch balls.  Before cooking, roll chicken balls in flour to coat.  Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat.  Cook chicken meatballs until brown, then turn – use discretion here because this is not an exact science!  They should be 80% cooked when you remove them from the pan and add them to your tomato sauce.  If you plan to freeze a batch, cook them completely through.  Drop the almost-cooked meatballs into your prepped tomato sauce and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Serve over your pasta of choice and top with parmesan cheese and parsley.  YUM!