Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

I don't like Thanksgiving turkey but sure do love ground turkey! Is that weird? I love how many different kinds of food you can make with ground turkey. From burgers to Asian lettuce wraps... Some of my favorite dishes are cooked with ground turkey. These turkey meatballs are so delicious. It's packed with lots of great flavors. My favorite thing about these meatballs were all the little things that went in the meatballs such as carrots and chili peppers. They really added great flavors to these meatballs. I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles and they went very well with the simple tomato spaghetti sauce.

Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

Adapted and changed from "Food Network"
(My recipe is a little different from the original recipe, so if you'd like to see the original recipe, please click the link above.)

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons fresh chopped oregano leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
salt
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Meatballs:

Cooking spray
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup steel cut oats
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1/2 cup finely grated carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (optional)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon chopped green chili or Jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon chopped red chili
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 box (16 ounces) whole-wheat spaghetti, cooked as directed by the package

Directions:

Make Sauce:

In a 4-quart saucepan heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onions until translucent, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, and salt. Bring all the ingredients to a low boil, reduce heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes, until liquid has evaporated slightly. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. While sauce is cooking, make meatballs.

Meatballs:

Preheat the broiler. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine the turkey with all other ingredients in a large work bowl. Form into 2 1/2 -inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Broil for 10 minutes, or until browned and almost entirely cooked through.

Meanwhile, remove rosemary sprig from sauce and add fresh basil. 

You can either add the meatballs to the sauce and stir or serve the sauce on top of meatballs like I did. Serve with cooked pasta. 

Enjoy!!