PORK MEATBALLS AND SPINACH PASTA

Pork Meatballs and Spinach Pasta image

This quick, easy dinner is full of flavor and vegetables. The pork is higher in fat, resulting in a juicy and delicious meatball. I use freshly ground cinnamon and Parmesan.

Provided by thebusylittlebaker

Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Pork Ground Pork Recipes

Time 45m

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds ground pork
¼ cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
½ (16 ounce) package mini penne pasta
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Steps:

Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
Mix pork, pine nuts, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a bowl; shape pork mixture into 1/2-inch meatballs and arrange on a baking sheet.
Bake meatballs in the preheated oven until browned and center is no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Turn the tray around once to be sure the meatballs roast evenly; flip meatballs halfway through cooking.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook mini penne in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and continue cooking until pasta is cooked through but firm to the bite, about 3 minutes more. Reserve about 1/4 cup pasta cooking water and drain remaining water.
Return pasta and spinach to the pot and stir in olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and reserved cooking water. Top pasta with meatballs before serving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 641.5 calories, Carbohydrate 44.3 g, Cholesterol 114.6 mg, Fat 32.8 g, Fiber 3.7 g, Protein 42.9 g, SaturatedFat 11 g, Sodium 482.4 mg, Sugar 2.4 g