Several years ago, I noticed that in addition to ground turkey and ground pork, my local supermarket was carrying ground chicken.  Since I RARELY ever cook ground beef, this was a win for me.  Then, when I stumbled across a recipe for chicken meatballs on Pinterest, it was a Win-Win!  The basic meatball recipe is so much healthier and so easy that it’s a regular menu item in our house.  I’ve used them as the protein at dinner, as well as in marinara sauce over pasta and in sandwiches.  

For this particular recipe, I wanted to do something a bit different.  There had to be other ways to use a meatball that wasn’t just in an Italian themed dish, so I set out to experiment.

After lots of tasting as I cooked, we ended up with a sort of meatball stew that was served over egg noodles.  And here’s the best part of it…the kids NEVER once complained!  They loved it!!

Moroccan Spiced Chicken Meatball Stew over Egg Noodles

1 lb ground chicken

½ c. dried breadcrumbs

½ c. grated parmesan cheese

2 TBSP grated onion

1 TBSP dried parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 egg, whisked

3 TBSP olive oil

½ c. chopped onion

½ c. chopped bell pepper

¼ c. chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ c. chopped carrot

Juice from lemon

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

½ c. sliced black olives

1 lemon, sliced

1 bag egg noodled, cooked according to package directions

In a large bowl, combine chicken, grated onion, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, 1 clove of garlic, and egg.  Using a cookie scoop, form into meatballs and place on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, heat olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan.  Saute chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and carrot until onion is translucent.  Deglaze pan with lemon juice.  Add spices and crushed tomatoes.  Bring to a simmer.  When meatballs are done, add to the sauce, along with black olives and lemon slices.  Continue simmering over low heat 20 minutes.  Serve over cooked egg noodles.