Tasty Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

I'm a sucker for foods that have been reinvented in miniature form, so when I spotted Chicken Parmesan Meatballs (sometimes referred to as Chicken Parmesan Cupcakes) on Pinterest I knew I had to give them a try.  I was a little nervous that they would either be totally time-consuming/labor-intensive or that they would be a total bust with my husband, who is not so much a big fan of reinventing!  Well, guess what?!? None of the above occurred.  They were easy, quick, and most impressively, Josh liked them.  Like really liked them...as in took them to work the next day for lunch...something he never does!!!

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

• 1 cup Panko
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (although I skipped that!)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. oregano
• 6 torn basil leaves
• pinch salt and pepper
• 24 cubes of mozzarella (I just cut up string cheese)
• 2 cups Marinara sauce
• spaghetti noodles to serve with

1.  Preheat oven to 400.

2.  Combine Panko, half the Parmesan, and EVOO in small bowl and set aside.  

3.  Beat egg in separate bowl.  Then add the chicken, pepper, onion, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.  Use your hands to combine all well.

4.  Lightly grease mini muffin pan (the one with 24 slots).  Put a couple tablespoonfuls of chicken mixture (eyeball it...basically until each muffin is full) in each slot.  Nestle a cheese cube into each muffin, covering with chicken mixture once it's in!

5.  Sprinkle each muffin with some of the Panko mixture, gently pressing it into the chicken.  

6.  Bake 25-30 minutes.

7.  Allow muffins to cool about 5 minutes and the loosen them from pan with a fork.

8.  Meanwhile, heat Marinara and cook spaghetti noodles to serve with!