Happy Canada Day! I live just 3 blocks from the heart of our National Capital, Parliament hill...which is why I'm hiding out in the suburbs today at my boyfriend's house! Canada Day in downtown Ottawa is absolutely crazy. Instead, I'm going to spend today cooking.
Meatballs are a great make-ahead appetizer for a party or a quick microwavable dinner from the freezer.
This recipe came from Rachael Ray, but the temperature at which the meatballs were baked was missing. The first batch, I baked at 375°F and they took 24 minutes to brown. The second batch was 425°F for 18 minutes, which seemed to work better. I also added more herbs and spices to the recipe, because I have basil and parsley plants. If you don't have fresh herbs, you can use dried.
I cooked the rice the night before to make it easier to prepare.
Edit: The next time I made these, I put 5oz of baby spinach into the food processor and added it to the meatball mixture. It stretched out the recipe to 55 meatballs.
Makes 45 meatballs
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 kg extra lean ground chicken
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried chili flakes
2 eggs
2 tsp olive oil
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Canola oil spray, for greasing
Directions
Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray with canola. Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Lightly coat your hands with a couple drops of olive oil, then mix well with your hands. Roll pieces into balls, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place meatballs on baking sheets evenly spaced. Bake for approximately 18 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Nutrition (per 4 meatballs)
Calories 240
Fat 11.1g
Carbohydrates 8.2g
Fibre 0.6g
Sugars 0.5g
Protein 26.9g
