Turkey Meatballs

This is my mother's recipe for the fastest, easiest meatballs you ever want to make. You could certainly add whatever else you like to them as meatballs are basically itty-bitty meatloaves. Meatloaf and meat balls are great catch-alls, so feel free to experiment.

You will need:

One package ground turkey, approximately 1 lb

Two Eggs

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ to ½ cup yellow onions, chopped and sautéed 

1 to 2 tsp Italian seasoning

Before you even get started, let me say a couple of things about the ingredients. 

Ground Turkey: When you buy the ground turkey, you will have multiple options regarding fat content. Try to buy the ground turkey with the higher fat content. Remember that turkey isn't as fatty as beef, so you really need the fat so your meatballs don't dry out.

Bread Crumbs: Not all bread crumbs are created equal. Make your own bread crumbs for these meatballs, using ONLY Butter Top White bread. (I think it's made by Pepperidge Farm.) They end up more moist than the packaged kind and they're more flavorful than any of the bread crumbs you can buy at the grocery store. Don't waste your time with the store bought variety, they will make your meatballs too dry.

Onions and Seasoning: These two ingredients fall into the "how much you like it" category. I like lots of onions, so I add more than the recipe calls for. Sometimes think that the seasoning needs a little oomph, so I add a generous amount of salt and pepper and whatever else looks good at the time.

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Sautée onions in oil until tender but not browned. Remove from pan, discarding oil.

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, using your hands. Form meatballs by hand and drop

onto lightly greased cookie sheet. You can make them as large or as small as you want, the most important thing is to make them all the same size so that they cook evenly.
(If you're cooking with your kids, let them do this step. They'll love to get messy!)

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. You may want to stick them under the broiler for a few minutes to help the browning along. Remember, you are working with turkey so they will be lighter in color than traditional beef meatballs.

When we finished the meatballs, we removed them from the oven and added them into the marinara for about 30 minutes. They don't really need to keep cooking but we didn't want them to get cold while we finished the rest of the meal. 

Look for the marinara recipe tomorrow, followed by the instructions for the spaghetti squash on Friday.

Happy eating!