#3 Southwestern Turkey Meatballs

Test # 3:  "Southwestern Turkey Meatballs" from The American Heart Association book Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook. 

Here's a picture of these lovely little meaty packages cooking away in the crock.  It's not the best picture, and I was going to get one of the meatballs on the plate...but got distracted by eating them, and discussing them with the family.  They were a huge hit, and have earned a place in the ultra-prestigious "Regular Rotation".  That honor is reserved for meals that 1. everyone likes, a lot.  2. are easy to make, and not too much hassle, and hence will actually get made busy weeknights.  3. everyone is willing to eat repeatedly, like at least once a month.

 

 

This recipe is a basic turkey meatball recipe--all the things you'd expect in a meatball, but with a nice southwestern flair of seasonings (cumin and chili powder) both in the sauce, and in the meatballs.

 

I made fairly significant substitutions: 

 

Instead of "skinless turkey breast" I used ground turkey that I had in the freezer from US Wellness meats--it's both white and dark meat, but looks more dark meat to me, so has a higher fat content than white meat, which may be what made these as nice and moist as they were. 

 

Instead of egg white I used the whole egg--it was lovely and golden and full of nutrition! I bought them from my veterinarian, who raises free range chickens that roam all over her property eating weeds and bugs and all sorts of chickeny-goodies, and miraculously turn those things into bright orange-yolked packages of nourishment for us.  

 

Instead of whole wheat bread crumbs I used a gluten-free panko.

 

Instead of regular diced tomatoes I used Muir Glen organic fire roasted tomatoes.

 

I omitted the jalapeno the recipe calls for because I just didn't have one on hand.  But I would absolutely use one if I had it!

 

One family member raved several times about the fire-roasted tomato aspect of this dish and thought it was vital.  I personally loved the turkey--the kind I used has a very REAL turkey flavor.  Whenever I cook it the whole house smells like Thanksgiving--in this case, Thanksgiving in the Southwest!

 

One thing I'm noticing about ALL slow cooker recipes--I don't know if it's just my crock pots cooking hotter or what--but my food is always done in about half the time listed.  Seriously.  Just about every time.  So you just gotta start checking it at half-time.  The exception to this is usually a big hunk of beef--that typically needs quite a while to break down the collagen and tenderize.  And don't peek under the lid very often...not until you think it's ready to be checked for doneness.  Every time you lift the lid you extend your cooking time by letting heat out.  To look inside you can just jiggle the lid a bit to clear the condensation so you can see through the glass.  Once you make a recipe successfully be sure to jot down in your cookbook the exact time that was right for YOUR slow cooker, because they are each a little different.  That way you don't need to lift the lid for peeking or checking the next time you make it. 

 

These meatballs took 4 hours on low in my 4 qt oval.  The recipe said 8-10 hrs on low.  But at 4 hours I tested them with a meat thermometer, and broke one open and looked, and they were totally done.  I think 8 hrs would've made them a mushy, falling-apart mess.

 

This recipe tells you to brown the meatballs in a pan for 6 minutes before adding them to the slow cooker and adding the sauce.  I think that step is vital, but it begs the question...why not just finish cooking them right there in the pan, on the stovetop?  I think you could, but the big draw for me--I mean BIG--is that when dinner time comes I'm not standing there at the stove, with a pile of dishes to do afterward.  The dishes were done, counters wiped, and floor swept 4 hours earlier. Happy Mommy.

 

I just found a review of the same recipe, and the entire book in fact! on another website, and they've got the entire recipe up for you.  I'm gonna link you up:  here ya go.