Parmesan Turkey Meatballs

This recipe finally converted Eric--he has resisted ground turkey for years, but these Parmesan turkey meatballs have changed his mind. I've always been a fan of ground turkey, but even I will admit that it tends to dry out. But these meatballs couldn't have been more tender and moist and cheesy. We had all of four meatballs leftover and even a day old they were still delicious.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
20-ounce package of ground turkey
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 egg, scrambled
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
3 tablespoon olive oil

Tomato sauce or marinara sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, panko, Parmesan, green onions, garlic, parsley, egg, salt and pepper. Shape meat into golf ball size meatballs (I made 20) and transfer them to the cookie sheet. Brush meatball with olive oil.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve with tomato or marinara sauce. (To freshen up my spaghetti sauce, I sauted some onions and garlic and threw in some oregano and basil. It's make a world of difference).

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Dinner Ideas:
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Margarita Chicken and Steak Fajitas 
Turkey Burger with Avocado Sauce
Spicy Parmesan Sausage Meatballs with a Whiskey Barbecue Sauce 
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 

The Best Friggin Meatballs Ever!

So the other day I decided to make spaghetti and turkey meatballs. The meatballs turned out okay, but there was nothing spectacular about them. I knew I'd have to fiddle with the recipe to give them that wow factor. We had a bunch of leftovers, and Eric--being the sweetheart that he is--made dinner last night because I was in a cranky mood (apartment was too hot, the water heater wasn't working, work had been frustrating, etc.) He turned the so-so meatballs into the best friggin meatballs I've ever tasted! They needed a zing to them and he knew just what to do.

Here is the meatball recipes I used. The flavor by itself is nothing special, but the Italian spices combined with the barbecue sauce were amazing.

Plain Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
2 ts dried basil
1 ts dried oregano
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 cup instant oatmeal flakes
Your favorite barbecue sauce. We like Sweet Baby Ray's.

Directions*:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray, set aside.

Mix everything together except the barbecue sauce. Roll the meat into 1 1/2-inch balls and place in a casserole pan. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the meatballs are no longer pink. Transfer the meatball to a sauce pan and cover generously with barbecue sauce. (Eric doesn't generally measure things out, so sadly I have no measurements for you) Make sure to completely coat each meatball. Heat on high until sauce is warm and serve!

Barbecue meatballs (I forgot to take a picture before we ate dinner; there were more)

Barbecue meatballs (I forgot to take a picture before we ate dinner; there were more)

*These directions are just based on how we ended up making this dish. You could probably save yourself a step and add the barbecue sauce to the baking pan or cook the meatball on the stove top in the sauce.

Eric also made my homemade mac and cheese from a box. The flavors of the two dishes complimented each other perfectly. I ate well last night.

 Enjoy!

~Krissy