Turkey Meatballs with Pasta and Gravy

Normally we bake our meatballs – it’s just a healthier way to cook and honestly, they taste just as good as fried.  But this time we needed the pan drippings from frying the meatballs to make the gravy, so. . . . back on our diets next week!  But it’s only turkey, and very low-calorie anyway.  We usually make our own pasta noodles from scratch, but we spent half the day today trying to re-hair an old fiddle bow (it was not cooperating), and we ran out of time.  We had to resort to whatever kind of pasta we had stored up in the pantry.  One of these days we’ll blog about making your own pasta, but not today.  This makes about 24 meatballs, give or take (serves 6)

Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs. ground turkey

2 tbl. fresh Italian Parsley, finely chopped

2 tbl. finely minced onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ tsp. brown mustard

½ tsp. Soy Sauce (low sodium)

¼ cup plain bread crumbs

Good dash of sea salt

Good sized pinch of ground black pepper

4 tbl. Canola oil

2 tbl. Olive oil

8 mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 ½ tbl. flour

2 dashes sea salt

1 dash ground black pepper

3 cup chicken broth

4 tbl. sour cream

12 oz. Egg Noodles

1 tbl. butter

2 tbl. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

·        Mix turkey, parsley, onion, egg, mustard, soy sauce, bread crumbs, salt and pepper together in a large bowl until well blended

·        Roll meat mixture by hand into 1 ½” meatballs and place on baking sheet

·        In a large skillet, add 2 tbl. of canola and olive oil and heat to medium

·        Add the meatballs a few at a time, and cook (turning occasionally) until browned on all sides

·        Remove cooked meatballs to a bowl and set aside (reserve the pan drippings)

·        To the pan drippings, add 2 tbl. canola oil and heat over medium until hot

·        Add the sliced mushrooms to the oil and sauté for about 5 minutes

·        Add the flour, salt & pepper, mix well, then cook stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes

·        Add the chicken broth, cook and stir until it begins to thicken, scraping the sides with a spatula, about 5 minutes

·        Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the meatballs and sour cream to the skillet.  Continue cooking and stirring another 5 minutes.

·        Remove from heat and set aside

·        Cook Egg Noodles as directed on package, drain, and add 1 tbl. butter and stir

·        In a large casserole dish, mix the noodles, meatballs and gravy and mix well, then top with Parmesan cheese

·        Bake at 325◦ for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it just starts to bubble