Chicken Meatballs in Ma Mouth

It hurts. My stomach, one day post Super Bowl and I have committed the same crime as everyone across the country. I am a sucker. I should know better. I look back on last night in the same way that I look at my comforter cover before I begrudgingly put every ounce of energy I have into trying to match the corners and cover my comforter- I hate doing that, yet, it has to be done. The one thing I did that was good was make my chicken meatballs. They are not heavy, they are not fattening, but they are filling- so having them on hand whether I eat them individually or put in a small amount of pasta (very small) is helpful in recovering from yesterday. My genius steps in when I substitute breadcrumbs for cooked quinoa, it does the exact same job except it amps up the protein level and happily, and unintentionally, makes them gluten free! Add them to sauteed vegetables, put them in a soup, they are great any time.

Chicken Meatballs
1 lb ground chicken breast
1 lb ground chicken thigh
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 handful flatleaf parsley
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 tbs dried basil
1 tbs salt
1 tbs freshly ground black pepper

Step 1: Cook and cool your quinoa (rule of thumb: 2:1- 2 parts liquid to 1 part quinoa- bring to a boil, down to a simmer and cover- about 15 minutes). Place onion, garlic, bell pepper, and parsley into a food processor and pulse to combine.

Step 2: In a bowl, combine mixture with the ground meats, parmesan cheese, basil, egg, quinoa, salt and pepper and mix to combine.

Step 3: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit, on a parchment (or foil) lined baking sheet, roll into meatballs about 1 inch in size, equally spaced. Pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes. 

Simmer in your favorite sauce- I made them for the big game (remind me who was playing again?) on a roll with smoked mozzarella! ENJOY!