Sweet Meatballs and Lemon Rice
This is one of those recipes that has been in the rotation for a while now. The combination of ingredients is not something that I would of thought of on my own, in fact I found the meatball recipe in a Real Simple magazine quite some time ago. They paired the meatballs with sautéed chard, but I have to be honest, the chard was gross. So, I swapped out the chard for lemon rice, which created a very light and filling dish.
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Meatball Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Chicken 1/4 cup Pine Nuts 1/4 cup Craisens 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon Salt and Pepper to taste |
Lemon Rice Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon minced garlic 3-4 cups cooked rice Juice and Zest of 1 lemon Salt and extra pepper to taste |
Position oven rack approximately 6"-8" from broiler. Preheat broiler. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and place a cooling rack on top of the cookie sheet.
Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape the meat mixture into walnut-sized balls and place on the cooling rack. Bake for 3 minutes then flip the meatballs with tongs and bake for another 3 minutes or until browned, but not burned.
Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the bubbling subsides, add the garlic and cook only until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Spoon in the rice and stir. Add in the lemon juice and zest and the salt and pepper (go heavy on the pepper), then stir to combine.
Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape the meat mixture into walnut-sized balls and place on the cooling rack. Bake for 3 minutes then flip the meatballs with tongs and bake for another 3 minutes or until browned, but not burned.
Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the bubbling subsides, add the garlic and cook only until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Spoon in the rice and stir. Add in the lemon juice and zest and the salt and pepper (go heavy on the pepper), then stir to combine.