CHICKEN MEATBALLS WITH KALE PESTO ON ZUCCHINI NOODLES

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

1 lb. ground chicken breast

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

For the Pesto:

6 large leaves of regular kale

2 cloves of garlic

5 leaves of basil

1/4 cup pinenuts

1/4 cup salted and roasted cashews

1 tsp. lemon zest

Juice from 1 lemon

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

pepper, to taste

For the Noodles:

1 box Zucchini Noodles from Cece’s™ Veggie Co.

Method:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, remove the kale leaves from the stem.
3. When the water comes to a boil, prepare a large bowl of ice water– we are going to quickly blanch the kale.  Place kale in boiling water for about 3 minutes, then using tongs transfer kale to the “ice bath”.
4. Drain, then add the kale to a food processor.  Add the remaining “pesto ingredients”.  Blend until smooth. Set aside until meatballs are ready.
5. In a bowl, combine all meatball ingredients (except the olive oil).  Using your hands, mix until just combined, you don’t want to overwork them.  Next, using your hands again, form 1 inch meatballs.  Set aside.
6. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Add the chicken meatballs and brown on each side for about 3 minutes, or until nice and brown, then turn heat down to low, cover and continue to cook until the meatballs are cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes longer.
7. Drain off excess fat from the meatballs.  Place back on top of the stovetop and add desired amount of kale pesto to the meatballs and let sit over low or medium-low heat until the kale pesto is heated through.  Then, serve immediately.  We served ours over zoodles that we quickly sauteed in a little olive oil for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat on the stovetop.  They are great over spaghetti squash and great by themselves!