So who says meatballs are only for dinner dishes or sandwiches! I decided it was time to have meatballs for breakfast. And, that's why I created this cashew chicken meatballs and orange ginger sauce. We had house guests, actually my son and his very significant other, for several days. Now when folks come to our house, they get five-star treatment, especially our family. Each morning I lay out a pretty hearty breakfast spread. It's not unusual to have fresh crepes, pancakes, scones, bacon, quiche, fruits, olives, breads and more. However, on this particular morning instead of doing traditional morning meats like bacon or sausage, I decided to see how these would fly. Honestly, I had dreamed about this chicken meatballs, knew the flavors I wanted and thought the sweet orange ginger sauce would be a luscious contrast.
I can only say that there were four of us. If you look at the skillet and all the meatballs, there were two left. That's it. They were a huge success. And, so easy. You could make them the night before, then the next morning pan sear them then bake. The drizzle orange ginger sauce tops off the savory of the meatballs. And, with sunnyside eggs, it was the perfect morning meal full of protein, flavor, unique textures and all around different!
Isn't that what makes life better? Moving out of the expected. The traditional. The usual. And, diving into something that's novel and an adventure, even if it's simply breakfast and your palate. Changing things up keeps us fresh and more interesting. So, next time breakfast rolls around, try meatballs. You could do a tomato sauce or even a brown gravy, but this orange ginger sauce will really score big time!
PS: Now there's no reason you can't have these meatballs for lunch or dinner, too!
cashew chicken meatballs & orange ginger sauce
Ingredients
- Preheat oven to 400
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup flat parsley, fresh & finely chopped
- ¼ cup basil, fresh & finely chopped
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ¾ cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 Tbl. cashew butter or 1 Tbl. finely minced cashew nuts
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. red chili flakes
- 1 tsp. coarse ground pepper
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves + 3 sprigs for garnish
- 3 Tbl. canola oil
- Orange Ginger Sauce
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp. coarse ground pepper
- ¾ cup orange marmalade
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400
- Put the ground chicken, eggs, parsley, basil, yogurt, bread crumbs and cashew butter (or minced nuts) in a large mixing bowl. Blend together. Combine and mix in a small bowl the onion and garlic powder, salt, chili flakes, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Sprinkle on the meat mixture and blend into the mixture with your hands.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. With about one-fourth cup of mixture, shape into 'balls' (they will not be perfectly shaped because of the consistency of the meat mixture) and put on the cookie sheet.
- Put a large (12"+) cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Let it get hot. Put the canola oil in and let it heat. Place four to five meatballs in at a time. You want to hear a sizzle. Fry about 60-90 seconds on the sides and all around. When brown, gently move the meatball(s) to a plate. Again, these will be probably irregularly shaped 'balls'.
- Once all the meatballs are browned, return to the skillet. Cover with a lid and bake in a preheated 400 oven about 15-18 minutes.
- Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a medium heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to roaring boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium to continue a simmering boil. Cook for another 15-18 minutes stirring occasionally. Sauce with thicken. When done turn off heat.
- When the meatballs are done, drizzle with the sauce. Garnish with the fresh thyme sprigs. Ready to serve.
Notes
If you have a nut allergy, no problem, just omit that ingredient.
You can substitute another nut, like peanuts or almonds, if you prefer over cashew.
http://allyskitchen.com/cashew-chicken-meatballs-orange-ginger-sauce/
comments
