Creating a plan of what I’ll eat for dinner for the week is one of the hardest things for me to do. I typically get home around 7 p.m., so I need recipes that are easy and healthy. We had turkey meat in the fridge, so I went for a twist on my mom’s classic meatballs this past week.
CLASSIC TURKEY MEATBALLS
This tasty meal takes about 30 minutes of prep time and 25 minutes to bake. To me, that’s a respectable amount of time in the kitchen after a full day of work and I can make a dish that’s packed with flavor.
This will make enough for 5-6 servings.
INGREDIENTS
- 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1 Lb. lean ground turkey
- One Lb. spaghetti
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon peppercorn
- 1 tablespoon dry onion flakes
- One cup 3 Cheese Blend
- 1 (heaping) tablespoon garlic
- 1 (heaping) tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup dry bread crumb
Optional: 1 cup ricotta cheese – adds an amazing layer of texture and flavor when combined with the other ingredients.
DIRECTIONS:
- Use the EVOO to grease a 9 x 13 pan. Set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the turkey meat, garlic, salt, pepper, onion flakes, egg, and cheese. Use your hands to blend the ingredients.
- In a small measuring cup, combine the water, tomato paste and 1/3 of the bread crumbs. You’ll end up with a creamy tomato mixture that you can then add to the mixing bowl. Add in the rest of the bread crumbs and continue blending.
- Use a large spoon or small ice cream scoop to form 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Place in the greased pan. I had to use an additional small 9 x 9 pan since I made about 20 and couldn’t fit them all together.
- Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes and then flip them over to bake for another 7-10 minutes, until slightly browned and crispy on the outside.
- Cook the spaghetti al dente, or to your liking. Drain and set aside. Add a few drops of EVOO to keep it from sticking.
- While the meatballs are cooking, heat up 1 jar of your favorite sauce in a pan. Add meatballs to the sauce when warmed.
- Add sauce and meatball mixture to the spaghetti and serve. Use additional cheese on top, if preferred. Feel free to add fresh parsley as a garnish as well.
While some people hate leftovers – I absolutely love them! We had enough from this recipe for lunch the next day and dinner again later in the week. You can also try a healthy twist with quinoa spaghetti pasta or make easy ravioli with vegetables for more delicious meals.
Let me know how this turns out for you and follow me on Instagram!
