Tuscan Meatballs

We're still on our healthier eating quest. I am happy that we have lasted this long, but a few of our old bad habits have returned. I eat too much ice cream. The kids eat too much junk. However, I am never worried about a healthy dinner when I serve these meatballs. They are tasty and incorporate lots of groups from the food pyramid. I make a double batch and have enough meatballs left to freeze for a couple more meals.

First, I must note that I make my own breadcrumbs. I toss all the "butt" ends of the loaf of whole wheat bread that no one in my family will eat into a baggie in the freezer. When I know I'll need breadcrumbs, I pull out 2 or 3 pieces of bread to thaw. I put them in my little food processor with some herbs and stuff, and voila, breadcrumbs. For these meatballs, my breadcrumbs have a vast array of stuff mixed in including fennel, salt, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.


Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray it with non stick spray (just in case).

In a large bowl mix together (hands work best):
1 Package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1 lb. ground chicken (We don't like ground turkey much, but it'll work. So will beef. Sometimes I mix beef and chicken.)
1 egg
1 c. seasoned breadcrumbs
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 handfulls of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. garlic salt (I use garlic powder - I'm trying to cut back on salt a bit)
black pepper to taste

The "dough" will look like this:


I use my trusty ice cream /cookie dough/meatball scoop to make the balls. Drop the balls onto the baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes. Baking time will need to be adjusted according to the size of your balls. Sidenote: I just laughed out loud. Men, that means the size of the meatballs, not your actual balls. Just want to clear that up. I tend to overcook my balls because I am a freak about raw meat.

The finished product is scrumptious!


I like to serve them with pasta and homemade lower fat Alfredo sauce. It's made with half and half instead of heavy cream, and uses corn starch and the pasta's cooking water to make a thick and rich sauce. I can surely post the recipe if anyone is interested.