Recipe: Italian Style Herb and Parmesan Baked Meatballs

So, I've realised that I have a habit of making up names for everything - especially food. You see, I have an incredibly fussy husband who judges food based on its name. 

If you tell him you're making alfredo, for example, it better taste exactly like the first alfredo he can remember tastes like or "it's just not right". He also thinks he's a bit of a chef, so when I tell him the ingredients that make up a meal he'll say "hmmm... I don't think that's going to work" - but if I leave that part out, give it a random name from the depths of my brain and then serve it up to him, he'll eat it all up and then rave about it for the next week. 

It's how we got the names for some of our favourite dinners - but a lot of the time I'm not too sure how true to their names they actually are, so we have conversations like; "Tonight we're having korean beef" "Korean beef? How do korean's eat beef?" "Well... er... like this, it's yum - just try it!" or "What do you call these?" "Italian meatballs.... they're good!" "Italian? mm, okay sounds good" 

But regardless of what you call them, these meatballs are all sorts of delicious. Flavoured with garlic, fresh herbs and melted parmesan cheese, they're so tasty that you can eat them on their own - or serve them with a sauce of your choice either by themselves or on top of pasta for a full meal.

But let me share the recipe with you! >> 

 

Healthy Italian Style Chicken Meatballs Recipe makes ~30 meatballs 

low fat, gluten free, low carb, high protein, clean eating friendly, grain free

500g/1.1 lbs chicken or turkey breast mince* 

2 tsp crushed garlic 

2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped 

1/2 cup (50g) grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 egg 

• Preheat your oven to 190C/375F 
• Line two to three baking sheets with baking paper and set aside
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of your ingredients until everything is evenly mixed. 
• Roll your mixture into meatballs, about 1 tbsp in size (or bigger/smaller depending on your preferences) and place them onto your tray about 1cm apart. 
• Once you've rolled all of your meatballs, place them into the oven and cook for ~10-15 minutes, depending on size, or until your meatballs are cooked through (the easiest way to check is just to break one open!).
• Serve immediately or leave to cool before placing in an airtight container and storing in the fridge for 2-3 days. These meatballs also freeze perfectly - just place them in an airtight ziplock bag and pop them in the freezer so they're ready to defrost and reheat whenever you need them!

*You can also use beef, lamb or pork mince if you prefer!

But tell me, do you make up names for your meals/recipes?

Or did your Mum/Dad when you were a kid? 

When nannying I made up names for everything when I needed fussy kids to eat :P Fairy bites (sandwiches cut into squares), monkey bananas (a banana peeled from the bottom so they have the top to hold as a handle - that's actually how monkeys eat bananas), monster mash (mashed potatoes), wiggly worms (spaghetti) - I could come up with a name for anything :P