Mini Turkey Meatballs

* 1 small onion, grated
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 large egg
* 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
* 3 tablespoons ketchup
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
* 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 pound ground dark turkey meat
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce

Directions

Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

4 to 6 basil leaves

2 dried bay leaves

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Yield: 6 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Easy

[this is my favorite tomato sauce for pasta!]

Also, these Feta Turkey Burgers are wonderful!

Feta Cheese Turkey Burgers from AllRecipes.com

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the grill for medium high heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine turkey, feta cheese, olives, oregano, and pepper. Mix together, and form into patties.
3. Lightly oil the grate. Place patties on the grill. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through.

[these can be cooked on a Foreman grill or in a skillet]

PART ONE:
one pound ground turkey
one pound either shrimp or ground pork
6 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 cup each finely chopped onion and mushrooms

PART TWO: (put this in the bottom of each soup bowl)
fresh cilantro chopped (one pinch)
fresh scallions finely chopped (one pinch)
sesame oil (2-3 drops)
pepper to taste

Mix part one together and put one teaspoon size into a very thin wonton wrapper until all meat is wrapped. You can fry these in oil and serve as fried wontons.

For soup put part two into the bottom of soup bowls. Bring chicken stock to a boil in one pot. Boil the wontons in water in a second pot. Ladle out wontons into bowl after you drain them, ladle chicken stock over them. (if you boil the wontons in the soup stock, the soup stock turns cloudy) Enjoy.