Freezer Friendly Turkey Meatballs
As a full-time mom balancing a personal blog, weekly TV segment, contributing content to CBG and taking awesome care of my family, I know all the secrets to making quick and delicious family meals. When it comes to saving time and money, your freezer is your best friend. I love using my freezer for make ahead items like pesto and scones, but my favorite freezer friendly dinner is turkey meatballs. Turkey meatballs are great to store in the freezer because you can take out only a few at a time as needed. I usually have marinara in my freezer as well, but it’s also a smart staple to keep in your pantry.
These turkey meatballs are perfect mixed with sauce for appetizers, placed on a bun for a meatball sandwich, or simply placed for pasta for spaghetti and meatballs. Once you cook them up, simply let them cool completely, place in a freezer friendly bag and label with the date. Then, I like to place them in the fridge for at least a few hours, and then place them in the freezer. I like to do the extra step of placing them in the fridge, because then it helps to cool the entire meatball, and they tend to freeze bit better and more evenly that way.
When you are ready to eat the turkey meatball, simply allow them to sit at room temperature to thaw. If you are planning a bit ahead of time, you can defrost them in the fridge, and then take them out to room temperature when you are ready. Once they are room temperature, you can cook them up any way you like!
Freezer Friendly Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients:
½ pound dark turkey meat
½ pound white turkey meat (you could use all dark or all white if you like as well instead of mixing)
1 egg, room temperature
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 large (or two small) shallot; finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup half and half (or whole milk is fine too), room temperature
salt and pepper
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees
*Heat a skillet over medium heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil
*Add in the shallot with a pinch of salt and cook until softened
*Add in the minced garlic, dried basil and dried oregano and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant
*Allow to cool
*In a large bowl combine the turkey meat, breadcrumbs, cheese, half and half, and the shallot/herb mixture
*Sprinkle in salt and pepper, however much you like, about ½ to 1 teaspoon of each
*Use two forks to mix the ingredients together being careful not to over mix otherwise the meatballs can turn out tough
*Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil (if you don’t have non stick, make sure to spray the foil with cooking spray)
*Scoop the meatballs out onto the tray in about 1-2 tablespoon size balls; I like to use a cookie scoop for this so they are uniform size and cook evenly
*Cook in the oven for 12-17 minutes depending on their size, until cooked through
*Allow to cool completely and place in a freezer safe container or bag, then label with the date
*Place in the fridge to cool completely, then place in the freezer
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Maria