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Cooking a healthy meal for my family after a long day at work has always been a challenge. I needed something simple but interesting, healthy but delicious and above all, quick!

Your family will thank you for trying this recipe, starting with lean chicken meatballs with greek inspired flavors, crispy zucchini chips and fluffy rice pilaf. Everything cooks together so you and your family can all eat together!    

Ingredients:

For meatball:

• 1 package (10 ounces) chopped, frozen spinach
• 1.5 pounds ground chicken breast
• 3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• 1 extra large egg
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons crumbled reduced fat feta cheese
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

For zucchini:

• 3 small zucchini, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup italian-seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano

For rice:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

For meatballs:

1. Defrost the spinach according to package directions. Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach and place the spinach in a large bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix gently to combine. Form the mixture into 24 meatballs, about 1-½ inches in diameter.

For zucchini:

1. Place zucchini in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over zucchini and stir to coat; add bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano and toss to coat.

For rice:

1. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Stir in the onion, bell pepper and 2 pinches of salt.
3. Decrease the heat to low and sweat onion and red pepper for 3 to 4 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and add the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, another 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add the broth, Increase the heat and bring to a boil.
5. Pour rice into an oven safe dish and cover with tinfoil. Place meatballs and zucchini on a baking sheet beside rice and bake for 15 min .Remove baking sheet from oven let rice rest for 15min then fluff with fork and enjoy.