Well, I don't use much red meat but we were having a major meat eater over for dinner, so I made 2 types of meatballs for dinner. I made him and the hubby some cheese stuffed beef meatballs and I made basil stuffed chicken meatballs for myself. Now you could use ground turkey instead of chicken, however I like the chicken flavor better. It is hard to find ground chicken, so I always make my own. It is super easy! Also, just a meatball disclaimer here....I made GIGANTIC meatballs! We laughed because they were the size of burgers. You don't have to make yours this big. Mine just ended up that way. :) I also like this recipe because I love fresh sauce. I used basil and oregano straight from the garden. So good! While I use jarred sauce when I am in a hurry, I usually try to make fresh. It just tastes so much better!! You can make this recipe GF if you buy GF pasta.
Ingredients
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
6 cloves garlic chopped
1 small onion or 3 shallots thinly sliced
3 tsp salt
3 tbs Italian seasoning
1 Tbs crushed red pepper
handful fresh basil3 Tbs fresh oregano
1 lb ground beef
1 lb chicken breast
4 eggs
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (*I make my own)
mozzarella cheese cubed
Directions
In a bowl mix ground beef, 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 Tbs Italian seasoning, 2 eggs and 1/2 C bread crumbs. Put chicken breast in a food processor and chop until fully ground. Put ground chicken in a bowl with 1 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tbs Italian seasoning, 2 eggs and 1/2 c bread crumbs. Cut cheese in cubes and stuff the beef meatballs with the cheese by taking half of the ball and making it into a bowl shape. Put the cheese cube in the little well of the meat "bowl" and then take the other half of the meatball portion and shape it over it fully covering the cheese and forming a ball. Do the same with the chicken, only fold up a basil leaf and stuff it with that instead of the cheese. Place meatballs in a large skillet browning each side on md heat. (about 2-3 min per side) Once browned pour the crushed tomatoes over the top. Add in the remaining tsp salt, garlic, shallot and crushed red pepper. Stir around being careful not to break up the meatballs. Cover and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Julienne cut the basil and chop the oregano. Put fresh herbs in for the last 5 minutes. Serve over whole wheat or GF spaghetti. You can make this with just chicken if you want, but if you have red meat eaters in the family, you can satisfy both the carnivorous and the healthy by making both! Enjoy!!
* To make your own bread crumbs, use a food processor to chop up stale bread. If it isn't stale yet, toast it a little and then chop it into bread crumbs.
Mmmm this looks de-lec-ticious. I may or may not have hordes of basil planted in the garden, so this is a perfect excuse to actually use some of it. :)
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