Danielle Mazlish's recipe for Chicken Cheeseball Kabobs on Veggie Spaghetti

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York Winner Danielle Mazlish's recipe for Chicken Cheeseball Kabobs on Veggie Spaghetti

Story: "In school, I did a report on Michelle Obama's Let's Move! program and now I try to eat based on the MyPlate picture. I used chicken instead of beef for the meatballs, and I stuffed them with fresh mozzarella, because I love cheese! I put the meatballs on a stick, because I think it is fun to eat foods on a stick. I added carrots and yellow squash to make it colorful and taste even better. It looked like spaghetti, so I named it Veggie Spaghetti, and topped it with basil, which we grow. Everyone in my family loves it, even my brother, who is a picky eater. I hope you like it too!"

Makes 6 Servings

351 calories 16g fat 27g carbohydrates 27g protein

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken Cheeseball Kabobs:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground chicken

1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, dried

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 pound skim-milk mozzarella, cut into cubes

6 wooden skewers

1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce for dipping (optional)

For the Veggie Spaghetti:

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 zucchini

3 yellow squash

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

2 tablespoons basil, finely chopped

1. To make the Chicken Cheeseball Kabobs:

--Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

--Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with olive oil.

--In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, seasoning, and garlic.

--In a small bowl, beat the egg with salt and pepper until well blended.

--Pour the egg into the chicken mixture and mix with a large spoon until blended.

--Using a soup spoon or tablespoon as a guide, scoop out the chicken mixture and form balls, about 1.5 inches wide.

--Push two mozzarella cubes into the center of each ball and reform the chicken over the cheese so they are covered and in a meatball shape.

--Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden on bottom, then turn over and cook 10 more minutes.

--When cooked, stick three chicken cheese balls per skewer to serve over the Veggie Spaghetti.

2. To make the Veggie Spaghetti:

--Using a spiral veggie slicer, mandolin or box grater, shred zucchini and yellow squash into thin strips so it looks like spaghetti.

--In a large nonstick skillet, warm oil on medium heat.

--Add zucchini, squash, garlic, and carrots, and cook until tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes.

3. To Assemble:

--Divide the Veggie Spaghetti onto 6 plates and sprinkle with chopped basil on top of each plate.

--Place the Chicken Cheeseball Kabobs on top.

--Serve marinara sauce on the side, for dipping.