Category Archives: Meatballs

Just Weirdos.

So, I’ve been hoarding frozen ground turkey for weeks.  I’ve been waiting to make homemade meatballs.  I have so many different recipes and things I want to try.  What could be better? Simple, healthy, and delicious.

I got home a little later than usual and had nothing readily available for dinner.  I then decided to make my meatballs. Totally unprepared.  As I put my frozen turkey in the microwave, it dawned on me…maybe I should have checked my recipe to see if I had any of the necessary ingredients other than the turkey itself. Uh oh.  Thus, the weird meatball was born.

Then, I’m on the phone with my mom asking about various substitutes and I can hear the doubt and disapproval in her voice.  ”Dammit”, I say , “I thought I had leftover breadcrumbs – where are they”?! Mom tells me to use crushed taco chips.  As I am hand-crumbling them, she tells me I should crush them using a rolling pin… uh…too late.  The recipe also calls for eggs … uh, all the eggs are at Andy’s house. So, I pause the process and trek on over to the neighbors.  They give up an egg (without question) – super neighborly.

My plan was to bake the meatballs and then marinate them in spaghetti sauce (which I did have) in my crockpot.  And, if I do say so myself, it all worked out.  The meatballs are unconventional, but tasty!  I did learn this little lesson:  when you make meatballs, you’ve got a lot of latitude.  It seems like you could mix in almost anything!  But, in the meantime, try these weirdos:

Makes 24 weirdos.

Ingredients:

20 oz (1.3 lb) of lean ground turkey

1/4 cup of crushed taco chips

1/4 cup of shredded parmesean

1 tsp of Oregano (or 1/4 c . parsley or basil)

1 egg (borrow one if you have to)

1-2 large garlic cloves

1 tsp kosher salt

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or make your own using 1 tsp olive oil, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, 1 bay leaf, 1/4 c basil, and salt/peppar to taste)

Directions

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

2.  Put your jar of spaghetti sauce in the crockpot on low (or your homemade sauce)

3.  Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl – mix well to combine.

4.  Liberally spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

5.  Make small balls from the mixture – a little larger than tablespoon size.  Do not pack them too tightly or they will get tough while cooking.

6.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until meat is cooked.  Cooked ground turkey should be about 165 degrees.

7.  When done, toss them in the crockpot sauce.  You can eat them immediately or let them continue to marinate for 1 hour.

8.  Eat these by themselves, as a side dish, or on pasta.

Like my tupperware? Rubbermade – BPA free.  Totally legit.