This is random, but since New Year’s is coming up, I wanted to get this out to you all in case you’re looking for some yummy New Year’s Eve part food ideas.

This recipe was inspired by a Parmesan Chicken Meatball Recipe I found on Pinterest, but I put my own spin on it because the original recipe made 4 GIANT meatballs and I had kind of a hard time with the actual cooking of the meatballs.

This way, they’re small enough that you could actually just serve these as a party appetizer and they’re SOOO good. This yields about 12 – 15 depending on how small you cut the mozzarella.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of ground chicken (I bought it at Trader Joes)
• Mozzarella Balls (small) OR Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
• Italian Style Bread Crumbs
• Flavor God’s Garlic Lover’s Seasoning (or regular garlic powder, but I highly recommend the getting Flavor God’s Garlic Lover’s seasoning)
• Egg (optional)
• Cooking Oil of your choice (just make sure it’s one that can handle high heat)

The first time I made this (not following the recipe) I didn’t mix the bread crumbs & egg into the ground chicken. This makes for a more firm meatball, BUT I can’t decide if I like it better because I had fewer issues with the cheese exploding out. If you do want to make for a softer and “normal” meatball texture, mix one egg and about a 3rd cup of bread crumbs in with the chicken. Mix it well.

Pour the Garlic Lover’s Seasoning into a pinch bowl you don’t need a lot, and then in a separate pinch bowl (I used a ramekin, but you could use a pie tin) pour the Italian breadcrumbs.

If using mozzarella balls, make sure you pat it dry really well. If using the cheese sticks, cut it in about half inch pieces.

Take a scoop (I used a tablespoon) of the chicken, place a piece of cheese in the center and roll it into a ball. Make sure the cheese is well covered. You want it to be at LEAST a 1/4″ thick around the cheese (add a little more mixture if necessary, also if it’s the softer texture version you want it to be a little thicker). Take a pinch of the garlic seasoning and sprinkle it around the ball and then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Continue to do the same until all the meat mixture is gone.

Pour some oil into a pan. You want it to be about 1/2″ of oil in the pan (depending on the size of the meatballs). Turn the stove onto high / med-high and let the oil get nice and hot ( you can test it by flicking a drop of water into the oil – if it spatters it’s ready). Next gently place the meatballs into the oil and cook for about 5 mins on each side. The breadcrumbs will get nice a golden brown on the outside but not burn. Once they’re done and nicely browned, take them out and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

You can serve this with pasta, just with veggies (as I’ve been doing to watch my carbs), or as party appetizers! They have soo much flavor thanks to the garlic seasoning & Italian breadcrumbs that you don’t need a sauce with them. I’ll probably serve these up on New Year’s Eve.

Let me know if you enjoy posts like these.

Thanks for tuning in!