Cranberry Chicken Balls

CRANBERRY CHICKEN BALLS

Ingredients for Cranberry Chicken Balls

 

I’m coming up on a pretty big anniversary. It’ll be 14 years that we’ve been together. When I got engaged my future mother-in-law asked me what I wanted as a gift and I knew immediately: a food processor! Initially she hesitated – bless her, she was afraid I’d cut myself on the steel knife. No worries there, I assured her.

It was a magical moment when at my bridal shower I opened the box and there it was – my engine for the kitchen – I was revved up to go! If that wasn’t generous enough, my mother-in-law added a GPS to guide the journey and included “The Pleasures Of Your Food Processor” by Norene Gilletz. This recipe is from (what should be) a staple cookbook in your kitchen. PS: Thank you Mom!

Ode to the Food Processor

Ingredients

2 lbs. Minced chicken

1 onion, halved

1 carrot, scraped and cut in 1” chunks

1 stalk celery

1 egg

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 ½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1/3 cup bread crumbs or matzo meal

2 – 14 oz. cans jellied cranberry sauce

½ tsp cinnamon

2- 8oz. cans tomato sauce

 

  1. Put your chicken in a mixing bowl. With your Food Processor, put in your Steel Knife, process onion, carrot and celery until minced.

Step 1 to Chicken Balls

  1. Add egg and seasonings and  process a few seconds longer. Add with crumbs to chicken – mix everything together.

Chicken Ball Mix

  1. Wet hands and form small meatballs as an appetizer or larger ones as a main course. Place on foil-lined cookie sheet which has been lightly greased. Bake at 350 F  for about 25-30 minutes.
  2. Rinse out the processor  bowl. With Steel Knife: place cranberry sauce and cinnamon in processor bowl. Add tomato sauce through feed tube while machine is running. Process until blended. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole.

Into the Oven!

  1. Add meatballs and bake covered at 350 F for 1 hour, basting occasionally.

Last Step to Delicious Cranberry Chicken Balls

TIP 1

Norene adds a great suggestion at the bottom of the recipe: You can substitute 2lb ground beef or veal for the chicken. This dish also freezes very well.

Cranberry Chicken Balls

 

2 Comments
  • Norene Gilletz
    Posted at 16:59h, 09 October Reply

    Hi Leah,
    Happy 14th Anniversary! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful story of how your mother-in-law gifted you with your very first food processor along with my cookbook, The Pleasures of your Food Processor, now out of print and considered collectible!! It has been updated and revised and the latest edition is called The NEW Food Processor Bible: 30th Anniversary Edition.
    Keep on cooking!
    Norene Gilletz, cookbook author
    http://www.gourmania.com

  • Dorothy
    Posted at 20:13h, 10 October Reply

    I have been making this recipe for Passover for many years, I found that 2 cans of cranberries was too much, so now I only use 1 can. Always delicious.

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