RECIPE: Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Pesto Pasta

Ok, I know I gotta get better about posting things on this site. WHEW! But I promise to hit y'all up at least once a week. You cool? Good!

I've been doing meal preps for the last 3 weeks (I KNOW I need to write a detailed post about it. Let me put that on my list). Anyway, it's been fun to come up with different recipes that I wouldn't mind eating EVERYDAY for five days. I've saved a ton of money and time. Plus it makes weekends fun because I get to taste and appreciate other food. I'm a person of habit so food prep makes my life much simpler.

This week I made Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Pesto Pasta - YO! These are so good I want to eat them at every meal!!! LOVE is not even the word. My goal for this week was figuring out ways to get more veggies in my life that didn't involve eating a salad or just steaming the veggie.

Now  bare with me - I'm no food scientist. He's my loose recipe (based off THIS recipe) for Chicken Veggie Meatballs.


Ingredients:(Makes 5 servings)

For Meatballs

• 1lb of ground chicken
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 sweet red pepper
• 1 cup of shredded carrot
• 1/2 small white onion
• 2 cups of raw spinach
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1/2 shredded parmeasan cheese
• 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried sage
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

For Pasta

• 1/2 box of Barilla veggie Spaghetti (Made from pureed vegetables so that each serving has 20% of your daily vegetables)
• 1 jar of Kroger Private Selection Pesto (or whatever pesto you like)
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
• 1/2 sweet red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Salt to taste (about a 1/2 teaspoon)

Alright let's get this party started!

MEATBALLS:  

Pre-heat oven to 405 degrees

In a food processor throw in all the veggies EXCEPT the spinach. Save the spinach for later. 
You don't have a food processor, then chop up everything by hand. And after that, go to eBay, buy a food processor for $36. You'll thank me!

Sautee your spinach in a sauce pan with a bit of water and olive oil. When spinach is cooked down but still bright green, remove from heat, drain, and add to your food processor. For my food processor-less peoples, just chop it up and add to your veggie mixture.

Now, take your ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, and Parmesan cheese and mix them together. You can do it by hand but I used a potato masher. Then stir in your vegetable mixture plus sage, salt, and  pepper.

Alright, now scoop the chicken mixture out by the tablespoon. Place the balls equally apart on a cookie sheet that has been oiled. I used an ice cream scoop to give me an even amount each time. 

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes (meatballs will be slightly brown)

PESTO PASTA: Trust me it ULTRA easy!

Prepare your pasta according to the directions on the box (you know, boil the water, drop the pasta in and all that jazz). Let it cook, then drain it. Set the prepared pasta to the side.

In a medium saucepan add 1/2 red pepper sliced lengthwise with a tablespoon of olive oil - as thin as you can get it. Sautee that sucker until tender.

Add the pasta to the pan with the red pepper, and the WHOLE jar of pesto and the 1/2 cup of pasta sauce.

The pan should be a bit warm so you'll hear the pasta cooking a bit. That's fine! Toss the red pepper, pesto, pasta sauce, and pasta together until it looks tasty and delicious.

Assemble all your plastic containers for the week and distribute the food. 3 meatballs per container and about 3/4 cup of pasta. Lunch for the week!