Once upon a time, the biggest woe in my life was that my name was not featured in Mambo #5
When you turn 26 you still hold on to the fact that you are really just in that early stage of your late twenties. Sure you are over the hump of 25...but just by a wee smidge. I justify this by the fact that Meredith Blake, the original queen before Regina George, swindled her way into the arms of Nick Parker at the age of 26. While both queens victimized Lindsay Lohan, when it came to Meredith, producers still considered 26 to be the appropriate age of a gold-digging, twin hater. See, the hate-worthy vineyard inhabitant was 26. A child. A sister to our beloved Lindz. I'm 26. I still have two weeks to get myself Dennis Quaid. If you have no idea what I'm talking about please refer to my previous post about Corn Bread and Chili and understand my complete infatuation with The Parent Trap.
So yes, in two weeks I reach the age of 27. To my Mom and my aunts, and my adult friends,(who make up the majority of my blog readers) I know I sound naive, foolish, selfish, and downright horrible for lamenting life in my twenties. Growing up I was always the youngest. I was one of the youngest in my grade, having a late November birthday. I hung around my older brother for most of my life and associated with people 5 years older than me. Now my acquaintances consist of my cat, and for goodness sake, I am 25 years older than that little rascal.
Kidding aside, whether you hate me for saying it or not, I am discovering signs of age. First, when I woke up today and grabbed my phone I accidentally took a photo of myself and gasped for dear life. What is worse? The fact that the photo scared me or that I'm accidentally taking photos of myself when I am trying to "work" my phone. Two, the last time I went to the doctor she told me to come back in five years. FIVE YEARS. Where was the pediatrician on that one? I came back in five years and now I have "doctor homework" and have to come back in six weeks. This is a true story. Third, and believe me there is more, I started weighing myself. One time I weighed myself in junior year of high school. The next time I weighed myself was junior year of college and I weighed the same weight. Last night, I ate a sushi roll, and weighed 5 pounds heavier than the morning of.
In the last couple of weeks, I have made some changes to my life. I no longer need a glass of wine to enjoy the night, a good workout can emulate the same feelings. Hello Jennifer, is this you? Yes it is. That good workout has become the main change in my life. I'm sure I will have enough information to define a "good workout" in Jen terms for another post, but it really has changed me. I have lost ten pounds. I sleep better and I weigh myself each morning. I'm no longer afraid of the scale. With changes comes eating changes. This part I struggle with because I see no apparent need to change my diet. I ate healthy and I eat healthy. The ten pounds I have lost are solely from working out. That being said, I am more inclined to share my healthy recipes with you than my...well let's just say the food I bring to my parents kind of recipes.
So yes, in two weeks I reach the age of 27. To my Mom and my aunts, and my adult friends,(who make up the majority of my blog readers) I know I sound naive, foolish, selfish, and downright horrible for lamenting life in my twenties. Growing up I was always the youngest. I was one of the youngest in my grade, having a late November birthday. I hung around my older brother for most of my life and associated with people 5 years older than me. Now my acquaintances consist of my cat, and for goodness sake, I am 25 years older than that little rascal.
Kidding aside, whether you hate me for saying it or not, I am discovering signs of age. First, when I woke up today and grabbed my phone I accidentally took a photo of myself and gasped for dear life. What is worse? The fact that the photo scared me or that I'm accidentally taking photos of myself when I am trying to "work" my phone. Two, the last time I went to the doctor she told me to come back in five years. FIVE YEARS. Where was the pediatrician on that one? I came back in five years and now I have "doctor homework" and have to come back in six weeks. This is a true story. Third, and believe me there is more, I started weighing myself. One time I weighed myself in junior year of high school. The next time I weighed myself was junior year of college and I weighed the same weight. Last night, I ate a sushi roll, and weighed 5 pounds heavier than the morning of.
In the last couple of weeks, I have made some changes to my life. I no longer need a glass of wine to enjoy the night, a good workout can emulate the same feelings. Hello Jennifer, is this you? Yes it is. That good workout has become the main change in my life. I'm sure I will have enough information to define a "good workout" in Jen terms for another post, but it really has changed me. I have lost ten pounds. I sleep better and I weigh myself each morning. I'm no longer afraid of the scale. With changes comes eating changes. This part I struggle with because I see no apparent need to change my diet. I ate healthy and I eat healthy. The ten pounds I have lost are solely from working out. That being said, I am more inclined to share my healthy recipes with you than my...well let's just say the food I bring to my parents kind of recipes.
Ground chicken has become a staple for me. A lot of people complain that it is dry, but I don't find that the case. If you do feel that way, you can combine your ground chicken with raw chicken sausage, which I have found in the store. This brings great flavor with a crazy less amount of calories. Meatballs are my absolute favorite food to cook. Many people, when they learn I love cooking, ask what my "go to" meal is, and I always respond...meatballs. It's not the most glamorous, sophisticated, or "netflix-approved" response but I love it. I love making the mixture, adding ingredients to season the sauce. I love making the sauce. I love adding the meatballs to the sauce so that it comes out absolutely amazingly flavorful. I love that meatballs are called "meat balls" and it doesn't matter what meat you use. I have honestly been using ground chicken for a ton of my recipes.
For this recipe I wanted to create a chicken parm variation of meatballs. After all, I was using chicken, combining it with sauce...would some extra cheese hurt? Everybody I have ever met in my life loves chicken parmesan. This recipe is a great way to switch things up from the usual. You can make mini versions of these and serve as an appetizer or you can make it your main meal. Serve it over pasta for a heartier version you can feed you family with. I wanted to take the healthier route so I baked these meatballs, but if you are looking for a crispy meatball, you can brown them in a frying pan with oil before baking.
For this recipe I wanted to create a chicken parm variation of meatballs. After all, I was using chicken, combining it with sauce...would some extra cheese hurt? Everybody I have ever met in my life loves chicken parmesan. This recipe is a great way to switch things up from the usual. You can make mini versions of these and serve as an appetizer or you can make it your main meal. Serve it over pasta for a heartier version you can feed you family with. I wanted to take the healthier route so I baked these meatballs, but if you are looking for a crispy meatball, you can brown them in a frying pan with oil before baking.
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 tbs fresh parsley
3 gloves garlic minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 26oz jarred marina (or your favorite homemade recipe)
fresh basil for topping (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, bread crumbs, egg, oregano, parsley, garlic, 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Roll the mixture between your hands to form 1 1/2 inch balls. Place meatballs in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Pour the jarred marina sauce over the meatballs. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan and mozzarella cheese evenly over the meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through. This is optional but....you can remove the meatballs from the oven and switch to broil on low. Place the pan back in and broil for 3 minutes so the cheese becomes especially gooey melted and golden brown.
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 tbs fresh parsley
3 gloves garlic minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 26oz jarred marina (or your favorite homemade recipe)
fresh basil for topping (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, bread crumbs, egg, oregano, parsley, garlic, 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Roll the mixture between your hands to form 1 1/2 inch balls. Place meatballs in a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Pour the jarred marina sauce over the meatballs. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan and mozzarella cheese evenly over the meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through. This is optional but....you can remove the meatballs from the oven and switch to broil on low. Place the pan back in and broil for 3 minutes so the cheese becomes especially gooey melted and golden brown.
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