Sunday, March 27, 2011

Meatball Calzadilla

Last year my vegetarian roommate AG got me to try a veggie burger. All my life I had scoffed at the 'fake' meat I had seen in grocery stores and on restaurant menus, thinking that it was gross. But I like to think of myself as someone who's pretty adventurous with food, so I gave it a try. It. . .was. . . freaking delicious! I now eat veggie burgers even when given the choice of a meat patty, much to the confusion of a waitress recently who had to clarify, that yes, I did indeed want a veggie burger with bacon.


This had me realise that meals didn't have to centre around a meat dish, that meat needn't be the centrepiece of an entree, or even necessary. Now I eat a mostly vegetarian diet to the dismay of my mother who still carries the aforementioned paradigm. She tells me all the time that I'm going to be anaemic if I don't eat more meat. Guess what? My hemoglobin levels were at the very adequate level of 133g/L last time I donated blood, so there.


Unfortunately this also means that I'm slightly at a loss on what to do with meat. Nonna hooked me up with some delicious homemade meatballs and the only thing that came to mind was your standard spaghetti and meatballs. I needed some inspiration.


Allrecipes gave me 1000's of recipes for meatballs, but not really any with meatballs, so I kept looking. Luckily I haphazardly came across a recipe on the Trader Joe's site and put my own spin on them to create: The Calzadilla.

What is a Calzadilla you ask? Sort of like a calzone, quesadilla, pita sandwich sort of thing. Duh.


Meatball Calzadilla
Yield: 1 serving
  • 1 pita bread (pocket-style)
  • 2-3 meatballs, cooked and heated
  • Marinara sauce
  • 1/5 green pepper, julienned
  • 1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
  • 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella
  1. Saute green pepper and onion in a bit of oil until fragrant and add marinara
  2. Push to one side and place pita on pan, cover half of it with the vegetables
  3. Add meatballs and squish them slightly
  4. Sprinkle with cheese and fold over the other half of the pita
  5. Allow both sides to brown

1 comment:

HaleyLeann said...

This sounds delicious! I love all of the veggies you put in it! Thanks for linking up on Recipes I Can't Wait to Try!

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