Quarantine Cooking: Turkey Meatballs

Being in self-isolation due to COVID-19 means we have a lot more time on our hands, and a lot less food to work with. Thus, the turkey meatball recipe was created: with a little ingenuity and panic – of not knowing what to cook for lunch. The beauty of this recipe is its flexibility. These are NOT exact measurements. You can use as little or as much of an ingredient, and you can swap out ingredients based on what you already have in your house. Ground turkey can be swapped out for ground beef, ground chicken… really any ground meat or protein of a similar texture would work. Breadcrumbs can be swapped in for crushed saltines, Ritz crackers, or other types of grains- leftover rice, farro, quinoa…whatever you may have on hand.

Ingredients

• ground turkey (1 package)
• about 1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 egg
• 1 onion (chopped)
• olive oil
• garlic & onion powder
• salt & pepper
• whatever other spices you wish to add & have in your spice cabinet!

Directions

• Cut onions.
• Combine ground turkey, chopped onions, garlic, breadcrumbs, and spices into bowl. Crack in the egg, and mix until it is uniform throughout.
• Form puck-shaped patties out of this turkey mixture and set them aside on a plate.
• Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into a non-stick skillet and turn the heat on high.
• Cook turkey patties on the skillet for about 8 minutes. Flip and cook for about 5 more minutes.
• Check to see if the meat is cooked by cutting one pattie in half. You should see NO pink/red color. If the pattie is still pink, you should cook longer. Its better to err on the side of overcooking rather than undercooking. It is much safer (as in avoiding consuming raw meat) and the burnt crunchies.
• Tip: when the patties are cooked through, remove them from the pan with a spatula, and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. This will help absorb excess oiliness from the patties.
• Serve in a hamburger bun, in a salad, or eat as-is!

On a more serious note, we are doing our best to flatten the curve of this virus by only grocery shopping for essential goods. Everybody counts and we can save lives by all doing this.

Let us know if you try this recipe! We want to hear the creative ways you’ve modified it with the ingredients you have on hand!