Make Mine Meatballs

 

I couldn't do it—I couldn't post a new recipe here before I had fully tested it. Or, at least one of my daughters had made it. Or, I had eaten the finished product. Last night I pulled a few meatballs from the freezer and made supper. I browned the frozen meatballs in the skillet. They stuck a little. Poured a partial jar of spaghetti sauce over it to finish cooking. Didn't watch that close enough and nearly burned it all. Moved it all to a non-stick skillet and added in some canned diced tomatoes w/garlic, basil, oregano and let this simmer, covered, until the meatballs were done. I checked them with a thermometer. Next time I'll start with a non-stick skillet.


I am going out on a limb here. I have made these meatballs and they are in the freezer. But I have not cooked them yet. I am trusting the many reviewers who have said they are very good. I am really trying to get a jump on my cooking—especially things that my non-red-meat-eating daughter can have. We will have the family here for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas. And I want to play with grandchildren then, not spend all my time in the kitchen.

 

This recipe came from Martha Stewart. If you check the recipe here, there are links to several ways to use these meatballs. One recipe calls for the meatballs to be cooked from the frozen state in a skillet. Another one cooks them under the broiler and doesn't mention being frozen. One reviewer said that they held together better after they had been frozen. I'm sure I will be using this recipe as a freezer recipe.

My own changes and hints? I doubled the recipe. If I was going to squish my hands in raw ground turkey, I might as well make enough at one time.  I used a little less pepper than the original recipe because the suggested amount just looked like a lot to me. Make that suit your family. I used green onions instead of scallions. That's what my store sells.

I think my meatballs might be a little bigger than they should be. I actually measured out the first one and tried to make the rest of them match. But I didn't get quite the yield that the recipe states. My double batch gave me 56 meatballs. (According to Martha's recipe, I should have had 70.)  Should you decide to triple this recipe like some of the reviewers did, you'll need a HUGE mixing bowl. The doubled recipe filled my biggest bowl.

From the lesson-learned-the-hard-way department (years ago—not this time,) use a pot holder to remove the baking sheets from your freezer. A frozen pan hurts your fingers almost as much as an oven burn.

This is a good recipe. But you need to remember that these meatballs are made with turkey and not ground beef. The texture is a little different. But I will make these again.

TURKEY MEATBALLS
    adapted from Martha Stewart

3 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread
1/4 cup whole milk
1-1/2 lbs. ground turkey (lean, dark meat)
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, minced (I used 2 tsp. from a jar)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 large egg
coarse salt and pepper to taste

Place bread in food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form. In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs with milk; set aside at least 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine turkey, green onions, garlic, parsley, egg, salt (1-1/2 tsp) and pepper (1/4 tsp) and breadcrumb mixture. Mix gently with a fork.

With your hands, form into meatballs (1 meatball = 2 level tablespoons). Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet with sides. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

To freeze: place meatballs on baking sheet in freezer for 1 hour. Move meatballs to a ziplock freezer bag. Lable and date. Store frozen up to 3 months.

Makes about 30 meatballs.


I forget how old I am most of the time. But when I pulled out the food processor for this recipe, I saw that it didn't have a polarized plug—that's the kind with one prong wider than the other. You know, it only goes into the outlet in one direction. Bet some of you have never seen an appliance without one of those.