Sweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs

 

My friend Megan cooked this meal for us ladies for a girls night one night. Everyone loved it so much that we all begged her to share the recipe with us and of course she did. I finally got a chance to cook it tonight and it was just as delicious as it was then. The thing is that we had Nick's brother Luke over for dinner tonight and both him and Nick aren't too fond of ground turkey. Well I'm happy to say that not only did they like these turkey meatballs they liked them so much that they both had seconds. Huzzah!

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup oat bran (can also use 1 cup breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground turkey


Sauce:
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained, with pineapple juice saved (should be about ½ cup)
1 ½ cups chicken broth (12 oz)
⅓ cup white vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp seasoned salt (garlic salt would also work)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 bell peppers (any color: red, yellow, orange, green), diced
1 large red onion, diced the same size as the diced bell peppers
2 large carrots, diced
1 cup fresh (or frozen) brocolli or green beans, in bite size pieces
1/3 cup cornstarch (dissolved in ¼ cup hot water)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine egg and oat bran until well blended.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except the ground turkey and mix well. Once all ingredients are evenly combined, use a large spatula to mix in the ground turkey and blend all the ingredients together equally.

 

4. Shape meatballs into 1 inch balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes or until golden. (Makes 30 meatballs) Set aside to cool. While meatballs bake, begin sauce preparation.

 

5. In a large saucepan, pour in pineapple juice, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, salt and red pepper flakes; cook for a few minutes over medium heat, until sugar dissolves.
6. Add peppers, onions, carrots, broccoli/green beans to saucepan. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until vegetables are crisp-tender

7. Dissolve the cornstarch in water and slowly pour into sauce, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Add reserved pineapple chunks and meatballs. Serve over rice and Enjoy!!!

Recipe adapted from Clean Eating online