Baked Chicken Meatballs (non-gf)
Friends of ours had a baby in June and we hadn’t been to see them yet, so we signed up for the “meal registry” Mealbaby, that their friend set up for them. Basically, you sign up to bring a meal after a new baby, (or surgery or whatever), and the new parents don’t have to starve and you get to visit!
I decided to make tortellini and veggies with butternut squash sauce, chicken meatballs, and garlic bread. I also made 2 big batches of pancakes for them to freeze (or eat for the next week) because we had a non-gluten-free pancake mix that we were never going to use up because I never just make pancakes for Lo and it sucks to make two different kinds if we want them for breakfast. We took them one of our favorite ice creams too – (Kroger) Private Selection Cinnamon Chocolate.
Since I don’t make meatballs much, I wanted to use an actual recipe. I googled around and ended up cobbling together one from a few different websites. Speaking of Private Selection Brand, I also had Private Selection Parmesean Herb Panko Crumbs that I got free to try from BzzAgent, and since I can’t eat panko or bread crumbs, I figured it would be the perfect time to use them. Since the panko was seasoned, it gave them just enough flavoring without me worrying whether the seasoning was too strong for a nursing mom.
Since I couldn’t taste them because of the Panko, Lo tasted one and said it was really good. I hope our friends agree!
The rest of their meal was simple – I just cooked refrigerated tortellini, added in some sauteed vegetables, and topped the mixture with Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Sauce (which I buy at Costco or World Market). I also split a loaf of Private Selection Ciabatta and broiled it with a mixture of butter, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper for them. I wish I would have taken a picture of the rest of the meal – it actually looked good!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the most appetizing pictures….I was cooking for hours and forgot to take a better one before we took them to their house.
- 4 tablespoons dried minced onion (or about 1/2 an onion minced)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dry seasoned bread crumbs or panko (I used Private Selection Parmesan Herb Panko) These are not gluten-free, sub gf breadcrumbs if needed
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk (slightly more if the mixture seems too dry)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients. Mix gently with hands until just combined. If time allows, let the mixture sit for 15 minutes or so to let the flavors blend.
- Form into 1″ meatballs.
- Place on foil-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked. Cut one in half to check.
- Enjoy!
- Meatballs can be frozen for 3 months or so. Let thaw in refrigerator overnight.
