Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Beef and Turkey Make-Ahead Meatballs



My sister found a great recipe in Taste of Home for "Make Ahead Meatballs." http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Make-Ahead-Meatballs The recipe made a ton of yummy meatballs and then gave suggestions for ways to use them like Meatball Sandwiches, Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Using that recipe as my base I made this recipe that makes less meatballs (because a family of four doesn't need 150 meatballs) and uses ground turkey and lean beef for a lower fat version. I used them to make Spaghetti and meatballs and then later Sweet and Sour Meatballs (recipe to come).

Family Reviews:
Me: These were good and they were quick to thaw so I could use them in my recipes.
Husband: How come I only get four meatballs? (He really liked them in the Sweet and Sour recipe.)
5-year-old: Not Good! (When pressed further why she said that she thought she had hurt my feelings so she said, "Well I like them a little bit but not a lot." She is not a fan of meat in any shape except for nugget shape.)
1-Year-Old: I cut up two for her but there seemed to be a lot of meat on the floor afterwards so I am not sure how much made it to her mouth.

Beef And Turkey Make-Ahead Meatballs

Ingredients:

6 Egg whites
1 ½ Cups Rolled Oats (I actually used a six grain mix with all different grains including oats, barley, sunflower seeds etc. it gives it a different texture and adds more fiber but oats work great too)
½ Cup bread crumbs
½ Cup Finely Chopped onion
1 Clove garlic minced
½ Tbsp. Salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef (I used 93/7)
1 lb. Ground Turkey Breast (I used Honeysuckle white 99% fat free)

Directions:

Beat egg whites, add Oats, Bread Crumbs, Onion, Salt, Worcestershire sauce, and Pepper and stir. Mix in the Beef and Turkey.

Using Scoop* shape into balls, put meatballs onto greased racks on cookie sheets. They will be sticky. Bake 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes, turning halfway.

Let cool. To freeze Put on clean cookie sheet and put in freezer for 20 minutes then put in Ziploc bags, press all air out and freeze. Will stay good for 3 months.

*I used the pampered chef medium scoop, approx. 1 ½ inches across.

Makes 52 meatballs.




Nutrition Info.
for 1 Meatball
37 Calories
1 g. Fat
less than 1 g. Fiber
4.5 g. Protein

Servings Size:
About 4 Meatballs
148 Calories
3.5 g. Fat
1.5 g. Fiber
17.5 g. Protein

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