Zucchini Meatballs

Summer is upon us. (Maybe, I did see a ton of sweater and coat comments in my FB feed last night from my friends.) One of the things that I love about summer is the fresh produce, farmer's market and being able to get great prices of fruits and veggies throughout the summer. One veggie in particular is usually easy to find a super low prices...zucchini. Zucchini is super easy to grow, and is often in abundance, hence the low prices. I once visited a farmer's market in NYC, 2 years ago I think, and the stack of zucchini was priced at $0.99/lb. That's CHEAP for NYC prices, and it wouldn't be unusual to find it as low as $0.49/lb. in other parts of the country. If I had to "pick a price", I wouldn't pay more than $0.79/lb. for zucchini in the summer...and stock up when you see it any lower than that. Zucchini is an easy veggie to stock up on because you can shred it and freeze it. It's perfect for baking bread, and also for using in these meatballs! (Especially if you have to sneak in the veggies to your kiddos' diets!)

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 16 large meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef
• 1  medium zucchini, shredded (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 1  egg
• 1⁄2 cup  breadcrumbs (homemade or store bought)
• 1  teaspoon  italian seasoning
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄2 cup  spaghetti sauce, to top meatballs
•  pasta
•  spaghetti sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, zucchini shreds, egg, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Form into large meatballs, mine were about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and I made 16 meatballs. Place into a glass baking dish (I used a smaller 7x11-inch glass dish, what you see above. Then top each meatball with a little pasta sauce.
3. Bake the meatballs in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on size and thickness of the meatballs.
4. Cook the pasta as directed.
5. Serve Zucchini Meatballs over pasta and sauce with a side of veggies. We had green beans!