(Not Your) Grandma's Turkey Meatballs

A spin off of my grandma’s meatballs with homemade sauce and spaghetti. This recipe is a little more simple and a lot more healthy than the traditional Sicilian recipe. Therefore, I’ve taken out the ground meat and ground pork and frying of the meatballs, but kept all the love!

Prep Time: Approximately 20 minutes

Cook Time: Approximately 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredient List:

The Meatballs

1 lb. Ground Turkey

1 Egg

1 Tbsp. Milk (low-fat preferred)

3 Cloves minced garlic

¼  cup day-old bread (Chopped into small cubes) or ¼ cup loosely-ground bread crumbs

1 Tbsp Dried Parsley

3 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Pepper

The Sauce and Pasta

1 lb. dry spaghetti

1 Clove Minced Garlic (do we see a pattern here?)

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 14oz. Can of crushed or diced tomatoes

1 tsp. Salt (or according to taste)

1 tsp. Pepper (or according to taste)

Other supplies:

1 Baking sheet

1 large bowl for mixing

Cutting board and knives

2 medium saucepans

A hungry appetite

Measuring spoons and measuring cups

Smaller bowls for the chopped ingredients

Instructions:

1)Preheat oven to 400ºF.

2)Chop basil loosely and set aside. Mince garlic, setting aside 1 clove’s worth for later. Crack egg in a large mixing bowl and beat lightly with a whisk. Add ground turkey, milk, 3 cloves chopped garlic, bread crumbs, parsley, and parmesan cheese to the bowl. Add half the salt and pepper, or to taste if preferred.

3)Here’s where it gets messy! Mix ingredients with your hands, then use your palms to roll the mix into 1 inch balls.

4)Bake the meatballs: place meatballs on a non-greased baking sheet and into preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove sheet from oven, flip each meatball over, and return to the oven. Bake another 13 to 15 minutes.  Check to see if meatballs are fully cooked by cutting one in half and making sure meat is brown all the way through.