New Recipe

Well, I decided that since food is one of the things that our family loves and I love to cook, once in a while I should add a recipe or two to the blog.  This was a great success that I made up last week.  Since going out to the Olive Garden restaurant a few weeks ago, Alex has developed a love affair with Alfredo sauce.  Knowing that this was not a very healthy obsession, I started thinking about making him something he can still love, but won't kill him before he's 18.  I also found some ground chicken breast at the grocery store and wanted to make something with it.  This is what I came up with.  Yes, it has butter and cream in it, but not a ton considering how many people you can serve with this huge bowl of pasta.  It probably doesn't qualify as health food, but may be a better option than a big plateful of "heart attack!"

Linguine with Chicken Meatballs

Meatballs:

2 slices bread

1/2 c. milk

1lb. ground chicken breast

1 egg

1 T. lemon juice (1 packet powdered lemon)

1/2 t. dried basil

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Tomato paste based glaze (1 T. tomato paste, olive oil, etc.)

Preheat to 400 degrees. Soak the bread slices in the milk for about 5 minutes.  Squeeze as much milk as you can out of the bread and discard it.  Break up the bread slices.  Add all other ingredients and mix gently.  Use the small scoop to place meatballs on a parchment covered baking sheet.  Brush the tops gently with a tomato paste-based glaze.  It gives them some color because the meatballs don’t brown at all.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before using.

12 oz. linguine, cooked to package directions

3 T. butter

4 big handfuls of spinach

1 lg. can artichoke hearts, chopped (not the marinated kind)

1/4 c. heavy cream

Asaigo cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Toss the cooked pasta with the butter.  Add the spinach while it’s hot.  Cover for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt.  Add the artichokes and meatballs and mix gently.  Drizzle with the cream, sprinkle with cheese and season to taste.  Toss and serve!