Turkey Meatballs

These are a major major favourite in this house and Kale will ALWAYS ask for meatballs if I give him choices for dinner. They are a snap to make, freeze nicely, can be prepared in a big batch, and go with a  lot of stuff. We don’t always serve them in a traditional way with tomato sauce and noodles, sometimes we serve them with buttered egg noodles on their own and sometimes in a cream sauce and sometimes Kale gets them in his lunch cold and plain. The trick is to make them the same size, even when you get bored of rolling these suckers around in your hand.

I also find using parchment to cook them is helpful, and that if you tray freeze them over night you can then load them all in a big bag and just take out what you need as needed in the future.

Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds ground turkey
  • 2 large eggs
  • About 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (in this one I used shallots because I had them, but normally I use onions)
  • Fresh parsley, a big handful, chopped up
  • About 1 cup of bread crumbs or quick oats (I switch back and forth and sometimes do half and half)
  • Various herbs and seasoning: I usually ad a timy bit of cayenne, and a teaspoon of oregano and thyme and sage, or a seasoning mix with all of those in it
  • Optional: flax seed whole or ground to add some nutrition

Method:

  1. Combine all the things. If it feels way too watery or sticky, boost up the bread crumbs or quick oats. You can also chill it after mixing to firm it up a bit.
  2. Take a small amount and roll out a ball about 1 – 1.5″ in diameter and place on a parchment lined tray. My trays usually end up with 4 down and 6 across.
  3. Bake, at 350º for about 35-40 minutes, turning once or twice. Check on them to see if they are cooked through. Sometimes mine cook faster even though I generally follow the same steps every time. Sometimes I have to boost up the heat a bit to brown them the way I want.

Let them cool and then place the tray directly into your freezer overnight. In the morning, put them all into a group bag. To reheat takes very little – I often make a pasta sauce and dump in the frozen meatballs, and simmer for 15 minutes and they’re cooked and hot.