FoodQT: Semi-Paleo Turkey Meatballs

Meatballs Revisited: Turkey Gluten Free-Paleo

  Making meatballs is always a treat, but I wanted to try something with a lot healthier for you than the regular ground chuck. I went to my local health food store and found Gluten-free Paleo Breadcrumbs. That's interesting. My family is the perfect test audience, would they be able to tell apart a ground chuck meat and a turkey meatball? So, here's where it gets tricky, I wanted to add veggies that we normally, don't eat on a regular basis. I went for spinach. I wanted to add cheese, now I know it's not paleo at all, but I add a tiny amount of feta cheese.  I needed a binding agent, I usually use egg, and that's not paleo friendly. But I'm working on binding food together without the use of eggs, so I will revisit that later.

 Working with ground turkey or chicken, is a kitchen challenge only because they're lean meats already. So how do you remain the moisture in a meatball. The secret I found is adding water. During the cooking process, the water will be drawn out first, leaving your ground meat with its original juices.

Well, as it turns out, my family could not tell the difference because there were flavorful. I will probably make this recipe is replacement of my ground chuck meatballs. It's  a lot healthier and maybe not entirely paleo friendly, but my mission was accomplished.

Supplies:
2 1/2lbs of Organic Ground Turkey
1/2 of package of paleo breadcrumbs gluten-free (found at Whole Foods)
1 egg mixed in a small bowl
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of italian seasonings
1 minced garlic clove
1/4 cup of water ( slightly less, you add til you like the texture, where it's not too mushy or too dry)
1 teaspoon of olive oil (for browning)
1 can of spaghetti sauce, or your own recipe
1/3 cup of chicken stock

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, slowly add the egg and mix well. You can let it the ground turkey flavor for 15 minutes. Make 1 1/2- 2 in. meatballs. Heat you deep skillet/pan, add oil and brown them on each side 2 minutes. Add your sauce and stock into the meatballs and shimmer for 5-6 minutes. I like to cover the meatballs with the lids, so they cook the rest of the way.
Enjoy!