Meal-Prepping Meatballs

I'm going to do a coupon brag.  I had an insanely good store offer for a 3 pound chub of ground turkey for 98¢ per pound, or $2.97.  What I forgot at checkout was that I also had a manufacturer coupon on the app, which stacked.  Net result, $1.88 for three pounds of ground turkey.

Next up was what to do with it.  I had originally planned to do some turkey sausage, but faced with that actual amount of meat, I decided to do another recipe, too.  I wanted to do something with the sweet and sour sauce I had just made, and thought meatballs would be great.

So, coupon brag #2, I had a pound of ground pork in the freezer that had been on clearance for 99¢.  I decided to cut the dryness of ground turkey by combining the meats.  Which is a thing, anyway.

What I did not want in my meatballs was any seasoning that tied them directly to a specific cuisine.  These were not going to be Italian, or Asian, or any other ethnic-leaning flavor.  I wanted them to be as at-home with the sweet and sour as with marinara, peanut sauce, mole, or curry.  Therefore, this recipe is very simply seasoned.

It also makes two pounds of meatballs, which is far more than my usual recipe.  The intention was to freeze half of them as pre-cooked meal prep.  Batch cooking just means making multiple recipes and preserving whatever you don't intend to use at the moment.  I can pull out the vacuum bag of meatballs whenever I want and use whatever sauce sounds good at the time.

*1 lb ground turkey
*1 lb lean ground pork
*1/4 C almond flour
*1/4 C matzoh meal or breadcrumbs
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 egg
olive oil

1.  Line two baking sheets with foil or parchment.  Brush lightly with olive oil or use cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 375º.

2.  In a large bowl, combine turkey, pork, almond flour, matzoh meal, and spices until evenly distributed.  Lightly beat egg and add to the mix until everything is gooey.

3.  Make meatballs about 1-1/2" across, or a heaping tablespoon.  I used the smallest cookie scoop, which got me just short of 4 dozen meatballs.  With poultry, you don't want a huge meatball.  There isn't enough fat in them to avoid becoming solid rocks.  Arrange on prepared baking sheets.

4.  Brush tops of meatballs lightly with more olive oil.  Because, lean meats.  Bake until centers reach 165º, about 20-25 minutes.  Serve hot with sauce and go-with of choice, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes about 4 dozen, 6-8 servings

Difficulty rating  :)