Italian Meatball Sliders

These are super delicious and super easy! We used ground turkey in place of the ground pork (could also use ground beef or chicken), and they turned out great! We had the spinach salad (pictured ~ spinach, red bell pepper slices, red onion slices, cherry tomatoes halved, shredded mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper for dressing) on the side and Baked Mac and Cheese.

Yield: Serves 6 (serving size: 2 sliders)
Time: 40 min
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 shallots, finely diced
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), toasted
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 ounces lean ground pork
2 (4-ounce) links turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce
12 slider buns, toasted
12 basil leaves

Preparation:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat; swirl to coat. Add garlic and shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until shallots are softened, stirring frequently. Combine shallot mixture, ricotta, and next 8 ingredients (through egg) in a medium bowl. Shape mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs; flatten each meatball slightly.
2. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add meatballs to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning once. Add marinara sauce; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until meatballs are done. Top bottom half of each bun with 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce, 1 meatball, 1 basil leaf, and top half of bun.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 429
Fat: 16.3g
Saturated fat: 4g
Monounsaturated fat: 5.1g
Polyunsaturated fat: 4.2g
Protein: 25.4g
Carbohydrate: 60.5g
Fiber: 2.3g
Cholesterol: 85mg
Iron: 2.7mg
Sodium: 764mg
Calcium: 131mg