Turkeyballs!

This is the second time I've made this, but the first time I've blogged it. I haven't made any repeater dishes lately. I've been on a kick of cooking as many different meals as I can. Nonetheless, I made an exception with this dish. It's so easy and flavorful.

To be quite honest, I've never been a huge meatball/meatloaf fan. This recipe, however, has changed my perspective on all things balls (you know what I mean!!). This is definitely a recipe to try. You'll be blown away with how incredibly good it is!

I served over pasta and used a store bought jar of spaghetti sauce.

My adaptation to Giada's recipe is below.

TURKEY MEATBALLS (Giada)

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
2 tablespoons skim milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Romano
1 pound ground turkey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, add bread crumbs and milk. Mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and 1/2 cup Romano cheese. Mix well. Add turkey and gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into golf-size balls.

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium/medium high heat. When almost smoking, add the meatballs and, without moving or turning the meat, allow it to brown for about 4-8 minutes, covered. Turn meatballs and brown the other side. Continue to cook until all sides are golden brown.

Remove meatballs from pan and place on a paper towel covered plate, to help remove excess oil.

Add the spaghetti sauce to pan and add meatballs to the sauce, bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow meatballs to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat and keep warm on stove. Be careful not to over-handle the meatballs since they are soft and fragile.

TIPS:

Be sure to make the meatballs as close to golf-ball sized as you can. The first time I made this, I made the meatballs larger and they were harder to work with.

When turning the meatballs to brown/cook, be very gentle. I recommend using a spoon, scraping under and lifting, to avoid breaking the meatballs. The larger the pan the better. A little extra room really helps when flipping the balls.

I covered the pan the entire time the meatballs were cooking.

Also, I found it easier to add the meatballs to the sauce vs. adding the sauce to the meatballs.