Italian Turkey Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is one of the all star comfort foods.  Traditional Italian meatballs are made with ground beef, pork, and veal, which makes it like most comfort foods in that it's caloric value is more than the combined IQs of the entire cast of Jersey Shore.  Since I can't live in a world without meatballs, I decided to try and lighten them up without losing any of that delicious Italian flavor.  This recipe uses ground turkey breast instead, which has a tendency to dry out, but the rest of the ingredients keep these meatballs tender, juicy, flavorful, and wonderfully healthy.

I use my own homemade marinara sauce for these, but you can use your favorite store bought brand if you'd like.  This recipe makes about 12-18 meatballs depending on how big you like to make them.  You can make really small ones and serve them as an appetizer, large ones and serve them with pasta, or even make them to smother with cheese and peppers and make a killer meatball sandwich.  Just remember to adjust the cooking time based on the size.

• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 5 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into half inch cubes
• 3 Tb milk
• 1 large egg
• half a yellow onion, grated (* I use a box grater to turn the onion into almost onion juice- this keeps the turkey very moist and keeps you from biting into big onion chunks)
• 1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan
• 2 cloves finely minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 6 cups marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 400.

Place the bread cubes in a smal bowl and cover with the milk.  Let this sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

 

 

In a large bowl, combine all of the rest of the ingredients.  Mix with your hands until everything is thoroughly combined.  I always use my hands to make sure it's all evenly distributed and I'm not overworking the mixture.

 

 

Add the soaked bread and mix again. 

Roll the mixture into golf ball sized balls.  This part can be sticky, so it helps to get your hands wet first.  This prevents the meat from sticking to your hands.

 

 

Place the meatballs on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the meatballs are almost cooked through.

 

 

While the meatballs are baking, heat up the marinara sauce on the stove top in a large pot.

 

 

Place the partially cooked meatballs in the sauce and cook the remainder of the way, about 20-30 minutes, covered. 

 

Pecan Crusted Dijon Chicken

 

At least two or three times a month, I find myself with boneless skinless chicken breasts in my fridge or freezer and have no idea what to do with them.  Let's face it, when you find yourself in a chicken rut, chicken can just seem plain old boring.  However, chicken is a wonderful protein because it can be dressed up so many different ways.  The key to getting out of the dreaded chicken rut is by having a few tried and true chicken recipes in your repetoire that are fast, easy, inexpensive, and most importantly- delicious.  This recipe is all of those things and more.  The best part about this, aside from it being full of wonderful flavors, is that I can bet that you will have most, if not all, of the ingredients on hand. 

 

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 C. pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 C. plain bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tb. sugar
• 2 Tb. fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1/4 C. honey
• 1/4 C. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• cooking spray

 

Preheat the oven to 400.  Lightly spray a pan with cooking spray.



In a shallow dish, mix together the pecans, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, sugar, and fresh thyme.



In another shallow dish, whisk together the honey, mustard, and balsamic vinegar.



Evenly coat each chicken breast in the mustard mixture, then coat it with the pecan mixture, and place it in the baking dish.  Repeat for each chicken breast.



Spray the tops of the chicken with a light coating of cooking spray to promote browning.



Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.  Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.