Monday, September 22, 2008

Menu Plan Monday - September 22nd


Family Favorites are in the spotlight this week at Menu Plan Monday!

One of our family favorites is something you'll notice appears on our menu quite regularly - BBQ Turkey Meatballs! As I was evaluating our grocery budget and looking for ways to cut back, I took a look at ground turkey as an alternative to the 93/7 ground beef we used all the time. I was seeing no sales for ground beef but ground turkey seemed to be on sale every week. I was always hesitant to try ground turkey. For me, turkey came in two forms - sliced on a sandwich or whole on a Thanksgiving platter! So if I was going to try it, I figured meatballs smothered in BBQ sauce would be a safe bet.

To my surprise, I loved it! We all loved it in fact. Since then, I've gone on to use ground turkey in other recipes as well. I love how it blends in with the other ingredients and seasonings so well and doesn't have a strong competing taste like ground beef. The recipe I use for my turkey meatballs is based on the Kraft Foods & Family recipe for Manhattan Meatballs with changes to the quantities used and meat.

BBQ Turkey Meatballs

1lb ground turkey (I use fresh or frozen Shadybrook 93/7)

1 cup homemade bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup diced onion

2 teaspoons dried parsley

ground black pepper to taste

favorite BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons oil

1. Combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, diced onion and egg in a large bowl. Season with ground black pepper. Form into golf ball sized meatballs.

2. Heat oil over medium heat and brown meatballs.

3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place meatballs in a casserole dish and cover liberally with your favorite BBQ sauce (You could also mix jelly or preserves into the sauce as well).

4. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Very simple and delicious! And if you're pressed for time, make and brown the meatballs ahead of time.

Our Dinner Menu

Saturday
- Veggie Lo Mein

Sunday
- London Broil marinated in teriyaki sauce, with brown rice & steamed sweet peas

Monday
- Sunday Leftovers!

Tuesday
- Chicken Salad Sandwiches on whole wheat

Wednesday
- Country Fried Steak with Gravy & Brown Rice, steamed veggies on the side

Thursday - *Family Favorite* BBQ Turkey Meatballs

Friday
- Chicken Fajitas

1 comment:

DeAnna said...

(Got here from MPM) Your recipe sounds delicious!! Thanks for sharing.