I understand the hoarding instinct. Freezing dozens of delicious meatballs for easy, future meals made me feel incredibly satisfied and safe.
Life has been hectic the past few weeks as I eased back into full time work and adjusted to life as a working business owner and mother of two. Cooking dinner nightly used to help me wind down and relax. And, I am sure some day when I get new systems in place, it will again be a pleasure. Unfortunately, I have been so drained the past fortnight that I find myself staring blankly into a full fridge each evening without a drop of culinary creativity. When cooking no longer excites me, I know that my energy is fully tapped.
I am a solution seeker. The moment something isn’t going right, I begin to problem solve. We have been eating too much take out food and I have baby weight to lose! So, I have come up with a few solutions to my problem.
First, I visited a local butcher and stocked up on lean meats to fill our freezer. I planted three long rows of lettuce, spinach, kale and swiss chard in our backyard and when it matures in the coming weeks, we will simply turn on the grill and eat lean protein alongside garden fresh greens.
I have also decided to use weekends to prepare healthy food for easy, future consumption. Turkey meatballs fit the bill. Ground turkey keeps these meatballs a bit lighter while using dark meats keeps them flavorful. I cooked them before freezing to save even more time during the week.
As I filled freezer bags with dozens of cooked meatballs, an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and calm washed over me. I began dreaming of a second freezer filled to the brim with ready-to-eat foods that require minimal weeknight preparation.
What to do with all these meatballs? Serve them to Mini Whipped with barbeque dipping sauce, mix them with sauce and serve over whole wheat pasta, tuck them in a sandwich (voice rising, pulse quickening) my culinary enthusiasm is already returning!
Turkey Meatballs
Makes about 3 dozen
3 slices bread
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (93% lean, dark meat)
1 small shallot, finely chopped (or 1/4 cup onion)
3 small garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Place bread in food processor and pulse until it is crumbs. Mix breadcrumbs with milk and set aside while you gather and combine other ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients by mixing with your hand or a fork. Add the bread crumb mixture and combine.
Make 1 inch balls (about 2 level Tablespoons of meat mixture) and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with a touch of olive oil. Broil the meatballs in the oven for about 10 minutes, turning them over half way through. Be sure inside is fully cooked.
FREEZING MEATBALLS:
To freeze them raw, place raw meatballs on parchment lined baking sheet in the freezer. After an hour, transfer them to freezer bags. To freeze cooked meatballs, let them cook completely before placing them in freezer bags.
May 9th, 2011 at 8:44 am
I can’t explain how tasty they sound! Plus I’m hungry now so even more tempting.
Got this page bookmarked so will have a shot at doing them when I get the chance.
Thanks,
James
May 9th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Meatballs are just a good food. Not fancy, not boring- just always good. Sorry to hear you’ve had a stressful past 2 weeks– hope you get back into a new normal routine soon! It always takes me a while, too :)
May 10th, 2011 at 10:39 am
Life is good when the freezer is full of meatballs!
May 10th, 2011 at 11:49 am
I love to cook and freeze for my busy family. These turkey meatballs look delightful. The addition of parmesan really helps give them a flavor boost.
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May 10th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
[...] Turkey Meatballs for Now and Later Turkey Meatball [...]
May 13th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
i always get that sense of pride when making stuff and freezing it; just thinking of all that time saved in the future is bliss! these meatballs would make a great banh mi -ish sandwich!
May 13th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
It seems we have the same diet technique, which can make it quite confusing in the morning when weigh-in time comes and no weight has been lost…and…can’t it be? Is that an extra .5 lbs added to yesterday’s weight?
Hmmm…
That sandwich looks wonderful and completely in line with the Rule of Threes, just so long as you pile it nicely with three meatballs…or six (multiples of three?)
:)
June 8th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
It depends where you go. Thin crakecr crust is the norm most places, but this particular pizza place had a choice of hand tossed, thin crust, or deep dish. I thought that spaghetti and meatball pizza would work best on hand tossed.
August 31st, 2012 at 11:12 am
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October 25th, 2012 at 12:42 am
Yo yo, my cousin Ayesha… Oh I mean Halisa made these. They were the bomb digity!!! I made her send me the link to get the recipe. Then I got EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA for 3 days…. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I WAS JUST PLAYIN HA HA!!!!! IT WAS ONLY FOR 1 DAY. Ok ok I’m kidding they were AWSOME I couldn’t stop eating them and now I have a turkey meatball eating disorder. I can’t stop eating them. I keep making a batches of 500 balls, freezing them and cooking them…. Breakfast, lunch, dinner….i think im turning into a turkey….. I mean they do say you are what you eat. I think my cousin is trying to faten me up and eat me for Thanksgiving…. Please send help.
Tom