Caprese Chicken Meatballs

Those beautiful Caprese flavors (chicken, mozzarella, fresh basil, tomatoes and pesto) of a classic Italian dinner woven into one delish meatball.

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Caprese Chicken Meatballs

Difficulty:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice noodles cooked according to packaging (Or any kind of rice or noodles. Cooking is just a big game of "chose your own adventure" really. So, who am I to tell you what to do?) ;)

• 1 lb ground chicken (or ground turkey)

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

• 1 1/2 tsp ground pepper

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

• 1/4 tsp herbs de Providence

• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

• 3 cloves of garlic minced

• 1/4 a jar of julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes in oil

• 1 tsp (just a squeeze really) of your favorite balsamic glaze. (Nonna Pia's is my personal favorite!)

• 1/2 tbs fresh basil chopped

• 1 tbs fresh chopped basil (This tbs will be reserved and sprinkled on top of the final product. Again, this is totally optional!)

• 6oz fresh mozzarella pearls

• 3 tbs refrigerated basil pesto

Putting it all together:

1. Preheat your oven to 450° F.

2. Prepare two baking/cookie sheets by lightly greasing them with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl whisk together the bread crumbs, ground pepper, oregano, herbs de Providence (or Italian seasoning ) and salt together until combined.

4. Add the garlic, balsamic glaze, 1/2 tbs basil, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella pearls to the bowl and mix with a spoon until combined.

5. Add the ground chicken to the bowl and sort of "knead" it into the mixture until everything is evenly combined.

6. Using your hands roll out your meatballs and place them onto your prepared baking sheets. They will be around three tbs in size but I like to make them various sizes.

7. Bake your meatballs for 12-15 minutes or until they are cooked through (reaching an internal temperature of at least 165° F).

8. Meanwhile, cook your rice noodles according to the packaging.

9. Once your meatballs are cooked allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a large bowl. Add your pesto to the bowl while you gradually place the meatballs into the bowl and mix the meatballs so they are evenly coated by the pesto. You can always add more pesto if you want to, it all depends on how much you like pesto...I love pesto myself! :)

10. Plate some rice noodles, spoon some of the meatballs on top, sprinkle it all with fresh basil and...

11. Et Voila!

A unique and irresistible take on a classic Italian dish!

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