Turkey Meatballs

Last night's dinner was a success *happy dance*! Our guests even went back for second helpings, which is a big indicator that the meal turned out as good as I hoped it would!

This post will be brief, and the purpose behind it is to share an alternate meatball recipe (Turkey Meatballs) with you that I have come to love and have adapted to several different recipes, such as Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Stuffed Peppers, and even Meatloaf!  It is a wonderful low-fat option if you are looking for a much lighter, yet still moist and tender meatball.  I have also contemplated making these into sweet and savory meatballs by adding dried cranberries or chopped apple to the mixture!

So, here it is... in all its lean and delicious glory:
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Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 small onion, grated or blended in a food processor until fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1/2 c. breadcrumbs
1 - 8oz. can Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon Oregano
¼ c. Parsley
¼ c. Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ c. Pecorino Romano, grated
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except for the ground turkey, in the food processor and blend together.  Add the processed mixture to a large bowl and mix in the ground turkey with your hands.  Form 1 ½ - 2 inch meatballs.  Fry in a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan, turning once to brown other side. When cooked (about 3-5 minutes on each side) remove to a paper towel to drain off excess oil.  Add cooked meatballs to a tomato-based spaghetti/marinara sauce and serve with your choice of pasta.


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Shopping Tip: If you belong to Costco, they sell a 4-pack of ground turkey for a great price!  Freeze it and you'll have it whenever you need it :-)


Tomorrow I plan to make stuffed red peppers using this recipe for the meat filling!  




Librarian turned Foodie