Baked turkey zucchini & onion meatballs with ricotta/pomodoro over farfalle

You will need

1 -1/2 cups of farfalle or pasta of your choice

1 cup marinara or pomadoro sauce

½ low fat skim ricotta

1 small fresh zucchini (or half of a large one)

1 pound (or close to) lean ground sirloin (or ground chicken or turkey or mixture of all)

1 small/medium yellow onion

1 garlic clove (or one tablespoon minced garlic

1 egg

½ parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste (remember that parmesan cheese adds salt flavor)

½ cup-3/4 cup Italian season bread crumbs (plain is fine to, you can just add seasoning)

Pre heat oven to 350

Chop onion garlic and finely

Chop zucchini finely

In a pot boil water(add pinch of salt to boiling water) and cook noodles as directed ( and as desired al dente or more)

In a non stick pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a light coat of cooking spray

Add onion and garlic on medium heat, cook onion until translucent

In a bowl add meat, egg, parmesan, seasonings, garlic, breadcrumbs, zucchini

Mix together in bowl until you can’t see the egg anymore(just tip so you know all the ingredients are incorporated)

Make golf ball sized meat balls and place onto a baking sheet light coated with cooking spray or brushed with olive oil if cooking spray is not available (or cover pan with sheet of foil for easy clean up, still use light coat of cooking spray to assure the meatball won’t stick)

Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes. Since all ovens vary ,at 25 minutes take out smallest meatball and cut in half, if cooked all way through you can turn off oven and let meatballs in for 2 more minutes to assure they are fully cooked (or take out if desired temp. is achieved)

In a small mixing bowl or saucepan over low heat mix red sauce with ricotta , add salt, pepper, and even parmesan to taste.

Once sauces are combined cover or mix with cooked noodles and place your bakes meatballs on top