And when I do cook, it's pasta, or one of my staples from this blog like "Whatsa Matta..Chicken Picatta" or it's redo "Picatta more better dish" and other quick meals I should be blogging about... But it happened last week. I cooked.
It appears that blogs such as this are a thing of the past and going by the wayside. Being replaced by short 30 second videos on Facebook or Twitter, or some other popular social media site of the minute. They're videos by Tasty or a quick article by Buzzfeed regarding the latest Top 10 something or another. Or maybe it was a Pinterest pin. And thing is, it's catching on. People are saving them. People are trying them. It's getting people cooking. It's also to get people to click their stuff, and earn money. And so I've tried a few Tasty recipes. They've been complete and utter failures. I've had to tweak, or change, or cook them often much longer than they say to. So, when tonight's recipe showed up in my Facebook feed as a Tasty video, I knew I wasn't going by the books. But do I ever? And man I'm so glad I changed this recipe. It's so much better to play. I present to you, Thanksgiving dinner... meatball style.
Ingredients
- 2lbs Ground Gurkey
- 1 box Turkey Stuffing Mix
- 1-2 Garlic Cloves
- Salt & Pepper
- Parsley
- Basil
- Thyme
- Chives
- 1 Egg
- Splash of Milk
So, place all the spices into your bowl, drop in the ground turkey, crack open and put in one egg, then a splash of milk. If I had to estimate, I would say I put in about 1/4 cup of milk. The first time I ran this recipe, the meatballs were a tad dry, so I will be considering altering it next time with either more milk, or the original amount of milk plus a splash of chicken stock. Thing is, turkey is a very wet ground meat, so making meatballs is sticky.
Next up, you have to crush your stuffing down a bit. I liked having large pieces and crumbs. So open your bag of stuffing and dump into a plastic bag. Grab your rolling pin and crush away.
You'll need to add about 1.5 cups of stuffing to your meatball mix. Go by look and feel as you start mixing your meat. I prefer to mix by hand, you're able to incorporate all ingredients faster. If you think you need more stuffing then add more.
Once it's all mixed, start making your meatballs. I was able to make 20 balls out of the 2 pounds this mixture. The meatballs were slightly larger than a golf ball. I wanted something you had to cut into, but also not so large it took forever to bake, and couldn't be considered a meatloaf.
Any leftover stuffing I had, I sprinkled it on top and around the meatballs in the bottom. Adding additional texture to the plate, not wasting food, and besides the fact that extra stuffing is always a plus. Into your pre-heated oven they go. They should bake for about 30-45 minutes on 375 degrees. I like to turn mine about half way through so that you can an even cook throughout. If you have any doubt they're not done, you can and should, always take their temperature with a meat thermometer. Pull them out and let them rest a bit.
While the meatballs are in the oven, it's best to start cooking your sides. This isn't a blog about how to cooks sides today. Come back some other time. So, I made mashed potatoes, peas and gravy. And honestly, whatever the best looking rolls on sale were that day. No one has time to bake their own bread anymore, and if you do, I'm all kinds of jealous. I made real mashed potatoes, not box as these deserved better and I actually had time that day, but I did cheat on the gravy. What? I never said it was going to be perfect.
I served my kids separate gravy from potatoes from peas from meatballs. Cause we all know their foods can't touch. But this was truly plated with the meatballs placed on a mound of potatoes, smothered in gravy. Peas and roll on the side.
Not the most beautiful plating in the world, I blame the phone and the rush to the table because we were all hungry. I'd be afraid to send this to Gordon Ramsay's Twitter feed for fear of what he might call it. But regardless of what it looked like, it tasted AHHHMazing.
Results
- The almost 2 year old picked at it. What's she's two.. and had already snacked all afternoon.
- The 6 year old gobbled it down well enough.
- The soon to be 10 year old gave me a 9.5/10 points. When asked why the 1/2 deduction, I was told "just because" although I suspect it was because she doesn't like gravy. Weirdo. <3
- The husband made it disappear pretty damn fast.
- Safe to say, this will be returning to our table. Kids even had leftover meatballs for the lunches the following days.
Also, what kind of Thanksgiving meal would this had been had I not served cranberry sauce/jelly? Served correctly, perfectly popped out of the can.
Enjoy!
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