meatballs and quesadillas!

So for small groups we have these things called CBDs [community building days] and which means potluck... that equals eating a lot of food.

Anyways, I frequent smitten kitchen and every entry she has...I seriously wanna make. So I finally took the opportunity to make her chicken meatballs which looked so delicious! And there's another thing about my small group...there's someone who is vegetarian, so we need to think of what to bring. I still wanted to bring the meatballs so I saw this recipe for portobello quesadillas! Absolutely NO MEAT! Yay! Plus, portobello mushrooms almost has a meaty texture that you don't even miss eating meat! Of course, there's no substitution in my diet for meat...but this would have to do.

Mmm raw ground chicken. You know. It's so easy, eyeballing is completely fine. Oh and I also did not brush tomato paste on top or add it in the meatball and it was still pretty delicious.
Ingredients:

3 slices Italian bread, torn into small bits (1 cup)
1/3 cup milk (for the bread crumbs, I just used ready bread crumbs. Yay less work!)
3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped (you can swap in Canadian Bacon if you can’t find pancetta) (sadly I did not use this, I know blasphemy! But we were fatty enough!)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg
1 pound ground chicken
2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided* (I did not use this at all)
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about four minutes. (Skipped soakingness and stuff)

Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in one tablespoon oil with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. (Did not have pancetta) Cool slightly.

Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. (Did not do this) Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, pancetta mixture, bread, and parsley. (I cut out the tomato paste) Form 12 meatballs and arrange in another 4-sided sheet pan (I used a 9×13 roasting dish). (uhh, I made around 25-30 ish 1-inch meatballs...it's a lot!)

Stir together remaining tablespoons of tomato paste and oil and brush over meatballs (the paste/oil does not mix in any cohesive manner, but just smoosh it on and run with it) , then bake in upper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes (though mine took a good 5 minutes longer). (Skipped the brushing part)

Onto the quesadillas!

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons prepared barbecue sauce (I did not use this)
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste (I did not use this)
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar (I did not use this)
1/2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I did not use this)
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1/2 pound portobello mushroom caps, (about 2 1/2 medium), gills removed (a spoon works well), diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
2 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
6 tablespoons shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Combine barbecue sauce, tomato paste, vinegar and chipotle in a medium bowl. (I skipped this part)

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until the onion and mushrooms are beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with the barbecue sauce; stir to combine. (I salted and peppered and added some cayenne pepper to the veggies but no bbq sauce) Wipe out the pan.

Place the tortillas on a work surface. Spread 3 tablespoons of cheese on half of each tortilla and top with half of the filling. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently to flatten. (So I really like avocados, so I added a couple slices of avocado)

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium heat. (I didn't add oil to the pan) Add the quesadillas and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Cut each quesadilla into wedges (a pizza cutter does the job nicely) and serve.

And here it is! The finished meatballs and quesadillas!

baked chicken meatballs courtesy of smitten kitchen and portobello quesadillas courtesy of tracey

Oh and in case you were wondering what the recipe for the bread pudding, it's from all recipes. It's called Gramma's apple bread pudding and yes, it was one of the most delicious bread puddings I've ever had. Oh on a side note, she did not make the vanilla sauce because ice cream is super delicious!!