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Italian Chicken Sausage Meatball Skillet

This dish is my way of creating something inspired by Italian ingredients and flavors, without sauce, that comes together in one skillet for a new take on dinner.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1-1 1/2 pounds of ground mild Italian chicken sausage
  • 1 large zucchini diced
  • 1 small red onion cut in half and sliced
  • 2 large garlic cloves minced
  • 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
  • 12 oz of chopped kale
  • 12 oz bag of frozen artichoke hearts
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1/4 cup Dry white wine /or broth
  • Dried Italian herb seasoning
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Method
 

Prepare meatballs
  1. Take your ground Italian chicken sausage and and roll into meatballs, about 1.5 to 2 inches in size. Should make roughly 20 little meatballs.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat
  3. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and the meatballs to the pan.
  4. Brown meatballs on one side 3-4 minutes and then turn using tongs and brown on second side for another 3-4 minutes.
  5. Remove meatballs from pan and set aside. Don't worry if they're not fully cooked at this point.
Cook the vegetables
  1. In the same skillet still over medium heat, add in one more tablespoon of oil and add in onions, zucchini, artichokes, and a large pinch of salt and pepper.
  2. Cook 5-8 minutes until soften, stirring occasionally
  3. Add in minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning and stir frequently for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.
  4. Add wine or broth to the pan stirring and scrapping any brown bits and let simmer for 2 minutes.
  5. Add in the meatballs, diced tomatoes, quinoa to pan and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low.
  6. Place chopped kale on top of all ingredients and cover skillet with lid to help wilt kale.
  7. Once kale starts to wilt, about 2-3 minutes, stir well and recover. Simmer for another 8-10 minutes
  8. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed
  9. Once seasoning is adjusted, top with reserved cup of grated Parmesan cheese and let melt covered for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve!

Notes

When making the meatballs, you may run into the problem of them not binding or rolling well because it's just meat. Chicken doesn't hold a shape as well as pork or beef without help sometimes. You can add 1 large egg and a 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs to help bind if you prefer. I just wanted to keep this recipe as simple as possible so I didn't do this step. I went with free formed meatballs that weren't perfectly round. Either method will work just fine!