Grain-Free Turkey Meatballs, 2 Ways (and a soup!)

We are crazy about meatballs. They make a super-easy lunch for young children and are very versatile additions to the weekly dinner menu. This week I decided to shake things up a bit and make two huge batches of Turkey and Turkey & Sausage Meatballs - over 100 meatballs in total.

I wish I had a picture to show you, but right now all I've got is an empty plate, a full belly, and dozens of delicious meatballs in the freezer.

Meatballs are a very simple recipe, that you can easily change up to suit your taste.  Here is how I make them:

Grain-Free Turkey Meatballs (or Turkey & Sausage Meatballs)

4 lbs of ground turkey (or 2 lbs each ground turkey and ground Italian pork sausage)
- The plain turkey version is much milder and quite lean, they are best eaten in a thick sauce or in a soup as I will describe below.

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2+ cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 - 1/2 cup dried parsley
1/8 - 1/4 cup dried basil (I like a more parsley, less basil seasoning)
Salt and Pepper, generous

Preheat oven to 375F. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until nice and soft. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, onion mixture, eggs, and seasonings. Mix very well (using your hands - clean! - is the easiest method). Form 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on ungreased, rimmed cookie sheets. These can be placed quite close together as they will shrink while cooking.

Place sheets in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotate trays and flip meatballs over, continue baking for 15 - 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve alone, with your favorite sauce, or as a part of the soup below. If freezing, cool completely, place in freezer bags and lay flat to freeze.


Summer Vegetable and Turkey Meatball Soup
Serves 4

12 meatballs, reheated if frozen.
2 strips thick bacon, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 medium zucchini, quartered and chopped
8 cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp each, dried rosemary, thyme, and oregano
3 cups chicken broth
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

Roasted potatoes & Parmesan (optional for serving)

In large sauce pan, cook bacon over medium-high heat. When bacon begins to get fatty and starts to shrink add onion, and cook until soft. Add vegetables, cooking until they are starting to brown. Mix in herbs, broth, tomatoes and meatballs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve alone or over oven-roasted red potatoes, and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan.

Enjoy!



`