These chicken meatballs are so juicy and flavorful but they are also healthier! Serve them over creamy sun dried tomato and mushroom orzo and you’ve got a new family recipe!
Last year we visited Israel for a couple of weeks and ate, and ate, and ate. The breads there, my goodness, there’s just nothing like bread outside of the USA. But what was interesting was that as much as we ate we really didn’t feel gross nor did we come home gazillions of pounds heavier. It was just fresh food and that made all the difference. Since coming home and dreaming of those cobblestone streets and warm challah, I’ve been heavily focused on dishes that incorporate more herbs and brightness to simple meals.
Meatballs are awesome, but a chicken version that’s still moist and juicy with the freshness of all those beautiful herbs is exactly what this blog needed.
I especially love the fried herbs we toss on top at the end. They are so delicate but still pack their flavor.
And before you ask, I don’t know what the best part of our trip was; Petra was amazing, Israel was like breathing new air, and the borders of Syria and Lebanon, well some of the best food we had all through the trip was there!
I think you have to leave home every now and again in order to find out what home really is to you. Home is everyone I love, a casual night around the table with no deadlines or hurrying and a big plate of the creamiest orzo dotted with earthy mushrooms and fragrant meatballs.
Ingredients Baked Chicken Meatballs
Get ready for bold flavorful chicken meatballs that are moist and super easy to make! While those are baking, you whip up creamy orzo and you have a great simple family meal. Here is what you will need…
For the Meatballs
- Panko Bread Crumbs: You can also crush up crackers or use regular breadcrumbs. These help bind the meatballs together.
- Milk: We use 2% or whole milk and it helps keep the meatballs moist.
- Olive Oil: helps the meatballs become golden when they bake
- Salt: adds flavor
- Aleppo Pepper: This is optional, but it adds great Middle Eastern flavor.
- Ground Chicken: ground chicken thighs also work or ground turkey
- Eggs: the real binders for the meatballs
- Grated Parmesan: adds flavor and helps hold the shape of the meatballs
- Shallot: adds flavor
- Garlic Powder: adds flavor
- Fresh Herbs: parsley, thyme, rosemary or you could do 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
For the Orzo
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: adds bright pops of flavor
- Oil: Use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar. If you aren’t using sun-dried tomatoes, add an additional tablespoon butter.
- Butter: used if you don’t use the sundried tomato oil, helps sauté the mushrooms, shallots and herbs
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Crunchy ramen Chinese chicken salad is made with rotisserie chicken, three kinds of cabbage, carrots, green onions, mandarin oranges and a sweet tangy homemade salad dressing.
The chicken is completely optional, but I can’t ever make it without it. With the added protein, it makes a great lunch or main dish for dinner. I especially love the chicken marinated in The Original Japanese BBQ Sauce. It’s being sold everywhere lately, but I first found it at Costco. It is so good and goes perfectly with this salad! Using a rotisserie chicken makes it so simple so there’s minimal cooking!
This oriental chicken salad is a great dish for a potluck. I remember when I was like 15ish, I went to a camp at a college. I stayed the first night with a girl I had grown up with and her roommates. We went on a little BBQ/picnic and a girl made a salad with crunched up top ramen noodles. I thought it was so weird. Years later my girlfriend gave me this recipe and it’s delicious. Very light, but flavorful and those ramen noodles add the most amazing crunch!
Ingredients for Ramen Chinese Chicken Salad
At first glance, this is going to look like a long list of ingredients, but I promise that it’s worth it! The flavor is so bold! Here is what you will need…
- Rotisserie Chicken: you can cook your own chicken breasts or buy it precooked
- The Original Japanese BBQ Sauce: this is optional, but it adds fabulous flavor to the chicken
Dressing
- Peanut Oil: the base of the homemade salad dressing, adds a subtle nutty flavor
- Peanut Butter: you’ll want creamy peanut butter
- Sugar: balances the acidity of the vinegar
- Rice Vinegar: adds tanginess to the dressing
- Soy Sauce: grab low sodium so the dressing doesn’t get too salty
- Sesame Oil: the tiniest bit adds the most delightful nutty flavor
Ramen
- Butter: used to toast the ramen noodles
- Ramen Noodles: crunch them up so they are bite size and ditch the seasoning packets
- Almonds: sliced and toasted with the ramen noodles
- Sesame Seeds: you can use black or just regular seeds and they also get toasted with the ramen
Salad
- Napa Cabbage: has a slightly sweeter flavor and the leaves are tender and great for eating raw
- Green Cabbage: chopped thin and adds to the base of the salad
- Red Cabbage: chopped thin and adds a bright pop of color
- Carrots: shredded on cheese grater
- Green Onions: adds that delicious onion flavor but it’s more subtle
- Mandarin Oranges: drained and left whole
This is meant to be just
I love all the flavors of caprese, so making garlic pesto caprese burgers just seemed like the logical next step.
The juicy beef patty has pesto mixed in, and then we grill it and top it with melty Havarti cheese, tomatoes, crispy lettuce and a tasty garlic mayo between a toasty brioche bun.
I’ve never really been a hamburger girl. I’ve always thought they were too dry and grainy. I realize that may not seem too American to hate a hamburger, but I think I may always prefer a panini, turkey club or something of that sort. Well, that’s not true. Lately I’ve been trying hamburgers to see if I could find one I like. This garlic pesto caprese burger, well, I secretly kinda loved it…
Ingredients for Garlic Pesto Caprese Burgers
This is just an overview of the ingredients you will need to make these scrumptious burgers. For all the measurements and instructions for making the recipe, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post.
For the Burgers
- Ground Beef Chuck: Go to your butcher and ask for a mix of this and ground sirloin. Having a good blend of meat makes a huge difference when it comes to flavor.
- Ground Sirloin: Combined with the beef chuck, it creates such great flavor.
- Pesto: You can make your own or buy some at the store.
- Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
- Brioche Hamburger Buns: You want a really good quality bun that is hearty enough to hold up to a juicy burger but also not so heavy that it takes away from the flavor of the burger.
Burger Toppings
- Green Leaf Lettuce: We love the way green leaf lettuce looks and tastes.
- Campari Tomatoes: These tomatoes have such great flavor, but if you can’t find them, you could go with a vine ripe tomato.
- Havarti Cheese: adds creaminess and just a touch of sweetness that is perfection on this burger
- Balsamic Glaze: You would use just balsamic vinegar if you don’t have a glaze.
For the Garlic Mayo
- Light Mayo: You don’t have to use light mayo, but it really tastes great and I like it to be lighter.
- Dijon Mustard: adds a little tanginess
- Garlic: adds flavor
- Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
Which Cheese is Best for Caprese Burgers
I decided that since we were doing a caprese style burger, then we might as well add Mozzarella, but ultimately it was the Havarti Cheese that really won us over. There’s slightly more flavor than mozzarella, yet it still melts down beautifully. The flavor is subtly sweet with a light note that pairs it perfectly with garlic and pesto.
How to Avoid Burger Shrinking when Cooking
I have discovered a little trick to keep them nice a