Ingredients

The following ingredients have 3 Servings
  • 1½ cups soft bread, crusts removed and cut into small cubes. (We used a supermarket bakery Italian bread)
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup tomato juice
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 pound ground pork (not ground seasoned sausage meat)
  • ½ cup onion, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon jarred pesto
  • 1 tablespoon jarred sweet pepper relish
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon dry oregano
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • ¼ cup seasoned or plain bread crumbs
  • ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs

Instruction

  • In a large bowl place soft bread cubes and cover with milk and tomato juice. Let soak for ten minutes then use your hands to make a mash out of the bread or beat with a fork.
  • Add all other ingredients and gently combine. Try not to over work the mixture.
  • Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and spray the pan with kitchen pan spray. Set aside.
  • Place a second tray or cutting board next to a small bowl of water. This will be used to scoop meatballs. (Once all are scooped, they will be rolled and neatly placed on parchment lined sheet tray.)
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Using a medium scoop like this onep, scoop out 3 ½ dozen meatballs (42 meatballs, 1 ½ ounce each) onto the cutting board or tray. Keep the scoop a little wet by dipping in the water occasionally.
  • Once all of the balls have been scooped, wet your hands lightly and roll each meatball into a ball and place on prepared sheet tray. Keep hands moist but not too wet otherwise the meatballs will get too soft and not keep their shape.
  • Once the tray is full, place in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove, cool and place each meatball on a second tray lined with parchment. As you remove each ball, wipe off sides so they are nice and clean before freezing. Also make sure you pick a tray that fill fit in your freezer.
  • Freeze overnight or until firm, then remove to a gallon zip lock bag and freeze the bag of meatballs.
  • As needed, just pull as many as you need for your quick meal.