I live in an odd place. It’s not urban enough for a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, but it’s certainly not rural enough to raise my own food or have those fun places the country is known for – local butchers, country pantries, bulk food stores. It makes me sad, & hopefully someday I can remedy this. But for now, I’m at the mercy at what my local grocery store carries, & it’s not much. When it comes to meat, I eat the conventionally raised stuff. Once they had a few packages of free-range steak, which I gobbled up hoping to encourage them to stock it frequently, but no dice. I’ve never seen it again.
A while ago they had these tasty little gems: pesto parmesan meatballs. They were made from ground chicken, but promised to be gluten-free, & I’ve got to tell you – they were delicious! But as they were a tad on the pricey side, I decided to make them myself the next time. I’ve had a jar of pesto in my pantry for awhile now, & this was just begging for it to be used.
I’d never made meatballs before, but they ended up being exceedingly easy to make, & just as tasty as the packaged variety.
What you need:
» 1 pound ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken, or any combination!)
» 3 tablespoons pesto (make your own!)
» 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (the higher the quality, the better!)
» 2 tablespoons olive oil
» Additional herbs & spices, as desired.
How to do it:
01 Combine all ingredients in a bowl using your hands. It really is the best way! If it seems like it needs more parm or pesto, feel free to add more. This isn’t something you can really mess up with too much flavor!
02 Roll into meatballs.
03 Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until thoroughly cooked through.
04 Serve with your favorite marinara sauce (I have a recipe coming) & your favorite pasta substitute!
Oh, & my grocery store? Hasn’t stocked the original ones since. Ah well – at least I know how to make them!
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