When my son got out of school, he immediately called me from his cell phone to say he had been thinking of my pasta all day, and could I make it for dinner. Of course I could! Except this time I totally switched things up. I made a new sauce, meatballs from ground chicken and used bow tie pasta.
To make the chicken meatballs you need:
1 lb. of ground chicken
1/2 cup of bread crumbs (I used crushed up stuffing instead)
1 egg
salt and pepper
oregano
crushed red pepper flakes
Mix all the ingredients together and using a tablespoon make as many meatballs as you can. I used 1 TB. of Canola oil and browned them on all sides. You don’t have to finish cooking them because they will cook in the sauce.
For the sauce I used:
1 28. oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 carrot (pureed so your kids won’t see!)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 a white onion, chopped
crushed red pepper to taste
few teaspoons or more of oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Add all the ingredients into the same skillet as the meatballs. Stir to incorporate the sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Serve over bow tie pasta. The meatballs turned out super moist, not overcooked at all, and the sauce, even with the carrot (which no one knew until it was over) was super tasty! I served this with my homemade cheese bread and it was delish!
Those browned meatballs look great. I too put pureed carrot in my pasta sauce. Adds some nice sweetness and mellows out the tangy tomatoes:-)
I’m about to make turkey meatloaf…or maybe make it into patties for the rest of the week. I had no idea there was such a thing as ground chicken. It only makes sense, but i never knew.
The carrot puree reminds me of the “Deceptively Delicious” book my Mrs. Seinfeld. I added carrot pure to the kids Mack & Cheese and they never knew the difference. Even “The Hubby” didn’t have a clue.
I always buy the ground chicken next to the ground turkey by Purdue. I’ve made chicken burgers out of it, and of course the meatballs.
Those meatballs are looking good and serving them with pasta sounds good!
We have used ground chicken for years too — I make a chicken burger that has grated zucchini and carrots (and chili powder and cumin for spices) that my whole family loves, even my daughter.
So cute that Paul is requesting something you make for dinner. always makes you feel good when they like what you make, huh?
Deb, your recipe sounds great with the grated carrots and zucchini! I will have to try that.