Baked Meatball Parmigiana

Meatball parmigiana just got a whole lot easier with my baked meatballs! No frying on the stove, no splatter, no mess! Perfect for a quick meal during the week, too! You can use your favorite jarred sauce for your baked meatball parmigiana or make this fabulous sauce that I used. Click here for the recipe!

Baked Meatball Parmigiana Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal combo)
4 cloves garlic-roughly chopped, not minced
a handful of chopped parsley
1 cup bread crumbs (I used Scharr brand)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (not grated) (sometimes I use grated asiago cheese)
2 eggs
salt to taste

Sauce of your choice (approx two 24-oz jars)
Mozzarella cheese to top it off with!

Mix all of the above meatball ingredients and form your meatballs-not too large. Pour 1-2 Tablespoons oil on a baking stone or pan with sides and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Lower oven to 375.

Pour some sauce in the bottom of your dish(es). I used a ceramic dish pictured above or you could use one 9×13. Lay meatballs on top of the sauce. Cover with more sauce and dress the top up with lots of mozzarella! It should be covered with cheese!!! Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 mins or until meatballs are cooked through and cheese is browning. For the last 4 minutes I raised the oven temp to 400 to help the browning.

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Caprese Stuffed Avocado

I have to be honest, I had a completely different post planned for today but… it just didn’t turn out quite the way I wanted. Thankfully, I always have a plan b, c, d, e…

I’m a planner. What can I say?

My desk and home are full of lists, sticky notes, and note pads to keep me organized and as on top of things as I can be. I’ve even been told that my organization skills can even be a little… intimidating.

I have a huge love for avocados. Huge. HUGE.

This avocado makes for a great little lunch! I think next time I’ll serve it over some baby spinach or mixed greens to add just a little more substance. But, I wasn’t complaining at all.

In fact, this little number is surprisingly filling and couldn’t be any more easy to toss together.

I used a mix of red and yellow cherry tomatoes that I had on hand, but color won’t really matter here. Other than aesthetic purposes!

For those that don’t know… a caprese salad is typically comprised of tomato, fresh mozzarella, and sometimes basil. It’s usually topped with some sort of balsamic vinegar or vinaigrette.

Today I wanted to step outside of the box and add something a little extra in there to make it filling and more of a ‘lunch’ option rather than a snack. Delicious!

Caprese Stuffed Avocado
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 2 • Size: 1 Stuffed Avocado • Calories: 261.5 • Fat: 20.8 g • Carb: 14.6 g • Fiber: 6.8 g • Protein: 8 g • Sugar: 2.2 g • Sodium: 192 mg

Ingredients:
1 Large Avocado
12 Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, Halved
12 Fresh Mozzarella ‘Pearls’
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:
Slice the avocado in half and remove the pit.

Top each with 12 of the halved tomatoes and 6 mozzarella pearls.

Pour the balsamic vinegar over the top and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Serve right away and enjoy!

ASIAN COCONUT 5-SPICE CHICKEN & ASPARAGUS

You’ll have to add Chinese Five Spice to your grocery list this week to make this recipe, unless you already have it in your pantry. It’s a flavorful Asian spice that goes well with chicken. I love the addition of coconut milk in this recipe ~ it tenderizes the chicken so well while marinating!

You can grill both the chicken and the asparagus if you’d like. Spring here in Utah means a wide variety of temperatures, so when I made this dish it was a brisk 39 degrees outside. Cold! So I opted to saute it inside instead of freezing while manning the grill outside.

Asian Coconut 5 Spice Chicken & Asparagus

2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup honey
2 TBSP lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TBSP Chinese 5 Spice powder
2 large chicken breasts, quartered, then pounded thin
1 bunch fresh asparagus

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients {everything up top except the chicken and asparagus.} Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade for the asparagus.

Pound the chicken breasts very thin.

Now, we are a family of 6, but we don’t eat a lot of meat at each meal. So what I did was divide the chicken and remaining marinade into 2 separate ziplock bags. One was for tonight’s dinner. The other I labeled then put in the freezer for a future dinner. As the chicken thaws in the bag it marinates and is perfect by dinnertime!

Wash and cut off the tough ends of the asparagus. Place the stalks in a large ziplock bag, along with the 1/4 cup reserved marinade. Seal the bag and mix by lightly shaking until all the veggies are coated.

Store both the chicken and the asparagus in the fridge for at least a couple hours. I try and turn the bags over/ shake around the marinade every 30-45 minutes to make sure it’s all evenly coated.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay a piece of parchment paper out on a cookie sheet. Dump the asparagus and marinade out onto the paper and spread so that no asparagus overlaps.

Bake for 15 minutes, then broil for an additional 2-3 minutes.

At the same time you’re preheating the oven, set a large skillet on medium heat on the stove. Add in about 2 TBSP sesame oil {or olive oil if you don’t have sesame oil.}

Dump the bag of chicken and marinade in and cook, covered for about 6-7 minutes per side.

It ends up so both the chicken and asparagus are done at about the same time! I like to serve it with white rice or rice pilaf.

ENJOY!