To make the sauce: add the tomatoes and juice in a blender and puree completely into a sauce. Melt the butter in a large deep skillet, and saute over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 1 minute, stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the pureed tomato sauce from the blender, and lower heat to a simmer. Cook about 8 minutes, until sauce is thickened a bit, and then season with salt and pepper. Remove deep pan from the heat, and stir in the cream and basil. Taste, add more seasonings if necessary (I sprinkled in about a half teaspoon of garlic powder, and added more salt). Set aside while you make the meatballs.
2.
To make the meatballs, combine 1/2 C panko, grated onion, parsley, basil, Parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic, and egg in a food processor. Blend together until just combined then toss in the ground chicken. Gently pulse a couple times until egg mixture coats the ground chicken. Pour the rest of the panko in a small bowl. Form the ground chicken mixture into small meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter, and then toss into the panko bowl for an extra coat.
3.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4.
Heat the olive oil in a separate skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs to the pan and cook until all sides are browned. When the meatballs have been browned on all sides, carefully place into the tomato cream sauce pan. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
5.
Top meatballs/sauce with mozzarella and more parmesan cheese. Bake until cheese is fully melted and bubbling, and meatballs have reached 165 with a meat thermometer, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh basil. Serve warm over a bed of pasta, or as is with a nice green salad.
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