Chicken Veggie Meatballs and Cauliflower

In a recent post for my Flourless Chocolate Muffin recipe, I shared with you that this scoop has never touched ice cream (not because I don't care for ice cream...I just have a different scoop for it).  No, this one helps me prepare muffins, cupcakes, mini meatloaves, and today, meatballs.  These meatballs are packed with nutrients and flavor.  

They're big, baked, lean, and green (in a good way).  I'm hiding a salad inside them that the kids will actually eat. 

Today I enlisted the help of another kitchen fave, my Ninja.  It makes food prep so easy, and is a great tool to help hide things in dishes.  All those fun colors you see in that meatball are veggies.  I packed spinach, carrots, mini portabello mushrooms, garlic, and scallions in these meatballs.  Once mixed, I used my scooper friend to make uniform meatballs ready to go into the oven. 

Yes, I could have gone with beef or pork.  But I like to change things up.  Using ground chicken cuts down on the fat and grease, without compromising flavor.  The end result is moist on the inside, while golden-crisp on the outside.  Perfect combination for any meatball.

  

Just because we're having meatballs doesn't mean we have to have pasta.  I love mash potatoes!  It's something I crave.  But white potatoes aren't really the best option when trying to pack in the nutrients.  Years ago, my husband decided to do a low-carb diet.  That meant me having to find new recipes because I didn't grow up eating anything low-carb.  One of my favorites was the use of cauliflower for replacing potatoes.  I had 2 heads of cauliflower on hand already, so I chopped them up, boiled them, and pureed them with my immersion blender.  I actually think they were ((dare I say it?)) better than potatoes. 

 

Look at how light and fluffy my cauliflower turned out.  I served up my dinner on a smaller plate, and I still feel like I over-ate.  But I couldn't help myself.  This was so delicious.  The kids and I literally scraped our plates clean.  

 

As always, when you try my recipe, I'd love to hear your feedback.  And get creative!  The ingredients that I used were what I had on hand.  If you want to add different veggies or use a different protein, go for it.  You won't mess these up.

Baked Chicken Veggie Meatballs

• 2 lbs lean ground chicken
• 1 cup bread crumbs or crushed crackers
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 worchestershire sauce 
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 1-1/2 cups carrots (I used baby carrots), or 3 large carrots
• 2 cups, packed, fresh baby spinach 
• 1 pint mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 scallions (green onions)
• salt and pepper 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  
2. In a large mixing bowl, add ground chicken, bread crumbs, eggs, worchestershire sauce, and tomato paste.
3. In a food processor, finely chop spinach, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, and onions.  Do this in batches considering the size of your food processor.  Vegetables should be finely chopped.  Processing too long will make a paste/puree.  Add vegetables and salt & pepper to mixing bowl with other ingredients.
4. Thoroughly combine all ingredients.  (I used my hands).
5. Evenly scoop meat and place 2-inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  If you do not have a scoop, each ball is roughly 1/3 cup of mixture.  You may use a measuring cup to measure what you need, and shape into balls with your hands.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating after 15 minutes.  Meatballs will be golden brown and cooked through.

Yields roughly  20-24 meatballs depending on size.


Cauliflower Puree

• 2 heads of fresh cauliflower
• water for boiling
• 4 Tbs butter
• 1-1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Rinse and chop cauliflower into large chunks.  It doesn't matter how big or small, but by keeping the pieces uniform, the cauliflower will cook at the same rate of time.
2. Place cut cauliflower into a large pot, and add water just until it covers the cauliflower.
3. Set heat to High, and once a rapid boil is achieved, reduce heat to Medium-High.  Boil until cauliflower is tender and cooked through, about 10-15 minutes total.
4. Strain water from cauliflower.  Add butter, and with a potato masher, mash the cauliflower into smaller pieces.  
5. With an immersion blender, puree the cauliflower while gradually adding chicken broth to it.  The more broth you add, the thinner the puree.  Adjust according to your personal preference.  Cauliflower should be a smooth, thick consistency.
6. Add salt and pepper according to your taste, and serve.

Serves 8.