Dinner was AHHHH-MAZING tonight! If you like spinach, chicken & Mediterranean flavors then you HAVE to try this. It's a healthy, protein packed twist on the Greek Spanakopita.
CHICKEN SPANIKOPITA MEATBALLS
What you Need:
16 oz ground chicken (I like Perdue Fit & Easy)
1 small yellow onion
5 cloves of garlic divided (3 for onion saute & 2 for sauce)
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
7 cups fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup Fat Free Feta Cheese
1 tablespoon McCormick Montreal Chicken seasoning
1 1/2 cups Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 cucumber
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 teaspoons Coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
3 tablespoons fresh Dill
Sea Salt
First preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Next finely chop onion, 3 cloves of garlic & fresh oregano. Saute in pan sprayed with olive oil cooking spray over medium-high heat.
Once onions are golden brown add to medium bowl & set aside.
Once again spray the saute pan with olive oil spray & add 7 cups of baby spinach. Cook until wilted. Drain excess moisture from spinach & finely chop.
In the bowl with onion/garlic mixture, add 16 oz ground chicken, 3/4 cup fat free feta cheese, 1 tablespoon of McCormick Montreal Chicken seasoning & wilted spinach & mix together.
Form into 18-20 round balls & place on baking sheet. Spray meatballs with olive oil spray & bake for 15-20 minutes.
While your meatballs are baking, finely chop 3 tablespoons fresh Dill & add to food processor along with 1 1/2 cups plain Fat Free Greek yogurt, juice of 1/2 of lemon, 1/2 cucumber peeled/seeded, 1 1/2 teaspoons of coriander & 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin & pulse until creamy.
Pour Tzatziki sauce into serving bowl & top with paprika.
Pair the sauce together with the meatballs...DELISH IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT! You can slice the meatballs thin, line 1/2 a whole wheat pita with the tzatziki sauce, cook up whole grain cous cous & serve over that. Or do what I did & eat them by themselves. SOOOOO GOOD!
You can definitely alter the recipe (i.e. extra virgin olive oil instead of spray, frozen spinach instead of fresh, dried spices instead of fresh.) I prefer fresh ingredients because it adds so much more flavor & use olive oil spray instead of extra virgin olive oil because it cuts the calories/fat significantly & doesn't alter the taste. I adapted the recipe from
Rachel Ray.
So glad that I made 21 of these little guys & there are plenty in the fridge for lunch this week. YUMMO! Each meatball (made exactly the way I made them) is approx 26 Cal, 0.2 g Fat, 2 Carb,
6 g Protein. The entire bowl of the tzatziki sauce is 210 Cal, 0 fat, 34.5 g Protein.
A typical serving of ground chicken is 4 ounces so you should get AT LEAST 4 servings from the meatballs & don't need more than 2 TBS of the sauce per serving. Very low Cal, low Carb, High Protein meal.
