Italian Style Turkey Meatballs

No joke. Really. I know what I wrote in my cookbook about being a meatball snob and liking regular beef meatballs and not those that are mixed with other stuff like pork and veal, etc.  That was then. This is now.  I'm developing a conscience about those long-lashed, four-legged friends. And this doesn't mean that I'm never going to eat a burger again. But more and more I am finding ways to contribute as only one individual can, to cut back on consuming so much red meat.  There, I've said it!!  So, here I've taken the basic recipe for meatballs and substituted good old tom turkey!  I dare you to make these, serve them to whoever, don't tell them it's turkey, and see what happens.  Only kudos my friends, only kudos.  Here's what I did...

Into a large mixing bowl place 1 lb. of ground turkey (not ground turkey breast), 1 egg, 1/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs (such as Progresso), 1 tsp. dried basil, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, 1/3 cup of shredded (on the bigger hole of your grater) parmesan cheese, 1 tsp. salt, black pepper to taste, and  1/4 tsp. or more red pepper flakes.

Mix all of this together with your thoroughly cleansed hands.  Pour a small amount of breadcrumbs into a small bowl.  Shape the mixture into approximately 20 meatballs and roll each one in the breadcrumbs. Coat a mini muffin tin with cooking spray, and place each meatball into the mini muffin tin, like you see in the picture.  Pop the meatballs into a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a spoon, give each meatball a little turn upside down.  Place back in the oven for 5 or 8 minutes more.  I got the tip on baking the meatballs rather than frying from quirky Alton Brown on the Food Network channel.  I have always heated the olive oil on the stove top and proceeded to make a greasy mess of the area before I was done.  This method is surprisingly simple and what a neat (no pun intended) idea.  They turn out delicious. Crispy from being rolled in the breadcrumbs, with the shredded (not finely grated) parmesan cheese kind of oozing out of them. Yeah, you want to make these.

Are these cute or what?

Baked, crispy, not greasy, delicious!

This is all you'll need:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• Parmesan cheese
• Egg
• Bread crumbs
• Basil
• Oregano
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Italian Parsley
• Fresh garlic 

This is what was in the cupboard!

Keepin' it real here, I did not labor over my sauce!!! I doctored up two jars of sauce that I had on hand, by sauteeing a small shredded onion, some freshly chopped garlic, and a bunch of chopped Italian parsley. When I shred onion in the biggest hole of my grater, it just disappears in the cooking but leaves all the flavor. Try that sometime.  Okay, I then added the sauce to the saute and washed each jar out with a quarter cup or so of the red wine that I had opened the night before ;-)   When the sauce is hot and the meatballs are done baking, I drop those into the sauce and let it all heat through.

This made 20 meatballs for me. The first night,  I served this with whole wheat spaghetti, but I was thinking the picture for that might be rather boring. My friend, Cathy, suggested I do meatball subs or sandwiches, and that's exactly what I did, as you can see below!!!  So good.  I buttered good bakery rolls rather than heavy sub rolls, and then grilled them. Topped with halved meatballs and sauce, sliced fresh mozzarella (not the hard type, but the fresh kind) and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Broil this until melted and delicious looking,  Now, tell me that doesn't have your name written all over it!  Give beef a break every so often and try this recipe.  You will be amazed at how you would never know the difference.  And for another recipe using turkey, check this one out here.

Turkey Meatball Sandwich with Melted Fresh Mozzarella!

Till next time... Click on "comments" below and let me know you stopped by. Thanks!