Mmmmm....meatballs!

I made these on Monday, after having the flu I was famished! Like all recipes I use, it was a starting point - but I made a few adjustments based on what I had available in the house.

Mini Turkey Meatballs

Mini Turkey Meatballs
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:
25 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
42 mini meatballs

Ingredients
1 small onion, grated **grating an onion, never done it before...but so many less tears**
3 garlic cloves, minced **3 heavy tablespoons of jarred minced garlic**
1 large egg
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves **I used dried here, a little less than a 1/4 cup**
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper **to taste, we like a kick in everything so I used extra and some red pepper flakes**
1 pound ground dark turkey meat
3 tablespoons olive oil
26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce **I used a jar of Berillo**
Directions
Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.
Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks.

I didn't want mini-meatballs, I wanted bigger ones. I made them too big for sure, but they did stay nice and moist! I don't think I'd personally be able to get 42 balls out of this...my big ones made up 12! I think next time I'll simmer them in the crock-pot after browning them in the pan...any excuse to use the crock pot!