Herbed Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce

Are your teeth aching from the sweets that abound this time of year? (I know, I know, I’m partly to blame.) Are you already missing the flavors of Thanksgiving, or maybe you still have some cranberry sauce without a purpose? Or, maybe you are just looking for a quick and healthy weeknight meal? This dish helps satisfy any or all of those problems! I had leftover cranberry sauce, some celery and a variety of fresh herbs after Thanksgiving and they needed to be used quickly, so I decided to give these meatballs a try.

This is a pretty cool hybrid of meatballs, a classic comfort food, with the flavors of turkey day. Served with some mashed potatoes and broccoli, this was a great dinner with the flavors of a holiday meal minus all the fuss. As with many dishes including fresh herbs, you can adjust the herbs to suit your tastes and what you happen to have on hand. I used a combination of fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley with a touch of dried oregano. All three of us really enjoyed this dinner, and I think it will be a nice addition to the weeknight repertoire.

Side note: Today’s holiday giveaway is one of the few kitchen unitasker items I just can’t live without – a Whirley Pop! Enter on the Facebook page (details will be posted before 7 am).

Yield about 3-4 servings

Ingredients

1 tbsp. butter
1/3 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup celery, finely chopped
1 lb. ground turkey
1 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 large egg
2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
½ tsp. minced fresh rosemary
¼ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. poultry seasoning*
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
Cranberry sauce, for serving

Directions

01
Preheat the oven to 425° F and lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook just until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
02
In a large mixing bowl, combine the celery and onion, ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, fresh and dried herbs, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix together until well combined. Form the mixture into evenly sized meatballs, about 1½ inches in diameter. Place the meatballs, evenly spaced, on the prepared baking sheet.
03
Bake 10-15 minutes, until completely cooked through. Serve warm with cranberry sauce on the side.
04
*I usually have a poultry seasoning blend on hand, but if you don’t, you can make your own with spices you may already have.

Source

Williams Sonoma via Pink Parsley