Turkey Dinner Meatballs Year Round

[KarenandErnie]

I have to admit it- I'm not that big of a fan of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey is just kind of meh in my book, cranberry sauce is too tart on its own, green bean casserole is usually sodden and sad. I do, however, love ALL of the Thanksgiving foods together as leftovers in sandwiches. And I especially love them mashed together, formed into meatballs and baked. Here is my recipe for Thanksgiving meatballs, or since it's March- Turkey Dinner Meatballs. I serve them over orzo with a white sauce and they are lovely. They make a great finger food for my 14 month old daughter as well, and since they include a lean protein and vegetables I don't have to make a veggie side dish for her.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Turkey or Chicken (or you can mince it yourself, it doesn't have to be ground)

2 eggs

1 cup prepared stuffing

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup diced apples

1 cup shredded carrots, green beans, broccoli- whatever you have on hand.

1 tbsp or so of thyme

A tsp or so of salt- I don't bother with this if the stuffing has salt in it already.

First, preheat your oven to 400°F. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl using your hands, and then form into balls. Place on a roasting pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. While your meatballs are baking, prepare your orzo according to the directions. I usually add a little chicken stock or chicken base to the water for flavor. Now, while your meatballs and orzo are cooking, you can make your béchamel sauce (if you've never made one, don't be scared. It takes about 4 minutes.)

Béchamel recipe:

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 cup milk

Melt your butter in a sauce pan, once melted add the flour and salt, whisk together until the paste is a light golden brown. Microwave your milk until warm and then add it to the saucepan, whisking constantly until the lumps are gone and the sauce has thickened. 

By now your meatballs should be ready? Are they ready? You may have to do what I do and neurotically sacrifice meatballs to make sure they are cooked through. Drain your cooked orzo, top it with the meatballs and béchamel sauce, and enjoy! These meatballs also make a great filling for sliders, if you don't want to bother with the whole sauce and orzo thing.

Do you have any recipes that use leftovers?

©istockphoto.com/rudisill

[elasmimi]

I use a lot of leftovers, but this really sounds amazing.

[Threes.Company]

No, I usually just eat leftovers as they were in their original form. 

This recipe looks good, though!

[Kmakksmom]

We usually don't have leftovers, but when we do we eat them as is.

[Kmakksmom]

These meatballs look really good.

[lalasmama2007]

We usually eat our leftovers "as is" the following day for lunch.

[MamaMandee]

Those sound great. Often leftovers get eaten for lunch the next day or we have a night of all the leftovers for dinner. Now & then I will reuse leftovers in a new meal, such as Taco meat into Taco burgers ( the lose meat on a bun w/ taco fixing), other solid meats (steak, chicken, ham) can but cut up for sandwiches, salads or cassoroles.

[KarenandErnie]

Awesome ideas. I'm stealing the taco burger, the taco is a staple in our house.

[Madelaine]

yum

[GwenMB]

I usually eat leftovers in their original form.  THis recipe sounds really good - too bad I have no desire to mess with making gluten free stuffing right now!  I'd add these to next week's menu but for the stuffing.

[MichelleK41]

Oh this is an easy recipe and looks good!