Make Ahead Meal #2- Chicken Meatballs

Like I said in the previous post, we had a lot of time on our hands at home this weekend with the Tropical Storm, so it was the perfect opportunity to make lots of food to store and freeze for the nights when we don't have time to cook.  Besides pot roast, we also made a giant batch of tomato sauce and chicken meatballs.  Now I will never claim to be a true Italian cook, but I do think I make a darn good batch of spaghetti/tomato sauce and even better meatballs.  This is kind of a spin on traditional meatballs, using ground chicken instead, but it'd be just as good with ground turkey or beef.

Ingredients for spaghetti/tomato sauce:

2 large cans of crushed tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)

1.5 large onions, diced

4 cloves of garlic. diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil

1 pinch red pepper flakes (to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and when hot, add the onions and salt and pepper.  Stir frequently and cook until onion is completely caramelized (about 15-20 minutes).   Add the garlic, bay leaves, herbs, and red pepper flakes and stir for a minute.  Add the red wine and cook for 5 minutes or until it has almost completely reduced.  Add the tomatoes and some more salt and pepper.  Once sauce starts to bubble, reduce to low and put a lid on it.  At this point the sauce is done, but the longer it simmers, the better it will taste (I recommend at least an hour).  

Sauteing onions for sauce

Ingredients for chicken meatballs:

1 pound ground chicken

1/2 large onion diced

1 large egg

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup or more of bread crumbs

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper 

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a small frying pan on medium heat, add the oil and onion.  Stir and cook for 5 minutes, or until onion begins to soften (doesn't need to caramelize), turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly..  In a large bowl add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.  Once the onions are cooled, add those as well. If mixture is too wet, then add more breadcrumbs.  Now you're ready to form your meatballs.  The size is totally up to you, in this case, I made small ones (about 1/2 inch in diameter).  Once meatballs are formed, add to a greased baking dish and bake for 25 minutes or until browned.   

Meatballs formed and ready to be baked

Now that you're sauce and meatballs are done, there are a few options for serving.  You could boil some pasta and serve it as spaghetti and meatballs with some fresh basil and Parmesan on top.  Or you could make meatball sliders and serve on small rolls with shredded mozzarella on top (place sandwich under the broiler for a minute to melt the cheese.  Or you could serve the meatballs and sauce as is with a side salad.  Whatever you do, it will be delicious, because the base for your meal is tasty sauce and tender and moist meatballs!