The Munchkin’s current favorite book is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Our good friend Lauren gave her the “complete” book, which includes the sequel Pickles to Pittsburgh, some time ago, & now that her attention span has caught up, we’re reading it with her at least twice a day.
So when I saw this recipe over at Weelicious, you can imagine that the book was the first thing I thought of. (Her picture’s better than mine.) Meatballs, fun pasta, & mozzarella “clouds!”
I halved the recipe & there were still leftovers for us. I also used ground turkey instead of chicken because it was cheaper. I’ve re-ordered the steps a little, since the meatballs take longer to prep & cook than the pasta.
- 1 lb. ground chicken or turkey
- 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 tsp. salt, divided
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. mini-wheel or other fun pasta
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1, 28-oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
- 8 oz. Bocconcini mozzarella (“small balls” — or buy the larger balls & then cut them smaller)
- Combine chicken, bread crumbs, egg, & 1 tsp. of the salt in a medium bowl. Use wet hands to roll teaspoonfuls into small meatballs.
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs & cook 3 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions.
- Add garlic to meatballs & cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, basil, & 1 tsp. salt (you may wish to add slightly less; I found it a little on the salty side) & cook meatballs in sauce on medium-low 8 minutes or until done through.
- Add pasta & mozzarella balls to the sauce mixture & cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes.
