Sunday Dinner is always designated for family time. Families come together and gather around the table to enjoy home cooked food, great company, and great stories. Since moving out of state 4 years ago, Sunday dinners are one of the many things I miss the most when I think about how we would all gather at my parents’ house for Sunday dinners. So even now I try and carry on the “Sunday Family Tradition” to make it special and meaningful even if it’s only for my husband and me.
Sundays are for family so we power down from all electronics, talk about the week ahead and remanence on moments passed.
Feeling a bit nostalgic or perhaps I’m feeling a bit homesick and what goes together like Sunday dinners and family… none other than spaghetti and meatballs.
So, today I am sharing my turkey meatballs recipe with alternate versions for anyone suffering from any food intolerances too.
I truly love making food, even food I can’t always eat. I will still make food for my husband and family to enjoy but I will make an alternate version for myself so that I too can partake in the “same food” experience and not feel completely isolated. One of the meals I love to make are meatballs or veggie balls. My husband Ryan has seriously been requesting to me dropping hint about spaghetti and meatballs for some time and I know he likes the way I make my original meatballs versus my version I have to eat so I decided to make two pans of meatballs so we both could enjoy.
The basic difference is cheese versus no cheese added to the meat mixture when making them.
My original meatballs usually include lean ground organic beef and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and a blend of mozzarella cheese, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper and done. But today, I wanted to use up the lean ground turkey we had in our freezer instead and so I swapped out the meats.
Some meatballs use a mixture of meats, from ground beef, pork, veal and sausage mixed with bread crumbs, seasonings, and egg. But, I have never mixed meat to make my meatballs because I always felt it to be too dense or maybe just to rich. I also have never used bread crumbs but that’s okay because guess what they always turned out magnifico! So you can make meatballs really however you want.
Alright, so today I am giving you all my turkey meatball recipe with either homemade sauce or if you want you can always use jarred sauce…do not worry I won’t judge you. I mean, my ancestors might but I won’t! haha
I hope you all enjoy these moments with your families making new memories!
Cheers!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 egg replacer or you can simply use an egg
- 2 cloves fresh minced garlic
- Tbsp fresh or dried basil, oregano, parsley
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
- Optional: ½ c. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and ¼ c. mozzarella cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Get our baking sheet and lightly spray your baking sheet ahead of time.
- In a medium bowl, add raw meat, egg or egg replacer and mix
- Finely chop garlic and onions and add to the mixture
- Add your fresh herbs and cheese (optional)
- Once everything is mixed in the bowl you can either get a teaspoon to scoop out similarly sized meatballs or you can do the eyeball method and see if the meatballs all look the same size.
- Start by scooping the meat and place in your hand. Then start rolling the meat in the palm of your hand to shape the meat into balls and place on the baking sheet.
- Once all the meat is shaped into your perfect meatballs place in the oven and bake until the meatballs are slightly browned (not burnt). Bake for 25- 30 minutes.
LEMONBERRY & FIG 