Seriously Versatile Meatballs

One tasty dish of spaghetti and meatballs!  Believe
it or not, but the whole wheat pasta is very good
when properly cooked.  Be careful NOT to overcook!

You know all about my love affair with pasta.  I love to eat it, hate to control my portion size and really hate what it does to my waistline!  We only eat whole wheat pasta in my house now, and the portion size is not what my eyeballs tell me it should be.  As a result, I am always trying to work my old standards into new dishes. 
I also love my crockpot, slow cooker or whatever you want to call it.  I love that I can put a meal together to cook while I am out and about and keep dinner warm when we are eating in shifts. 

My girls enjoyed this sandwich so much, they asked
if they could each take one in their lunch the next day.

This great meatball recipe is so versatile.  You can use the meatballs with sauce for traditional spaghetti and meatballs, or serve the ever-popular meatballs subs, or the even lighter version of one piece of freshly baked whole wheat bread open-faced meatball sandwich.  Here's what you need to know:


INGREDIENTS

This whole wheat/whole grain bread was
great as the base of this open-faced sandwich!
Buy frozen and bake at home.  So good.

• 1 lb. LEAN ground beef
• 1 lb. ground turkey breast (99% Lean)
• 4 T. fresh parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs mixed with 1 T. Italian Seasoning
• 3 large eggs (or egg beaters)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced (I run mine through a press)
• 1 T. fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 to 2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I swear by HEB/Central Market's Tomato Basil Sauce--it's the best on the market and a great value!)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef and ground turkey, parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, parsley and dried oregano.  Add bread crumbs 1/2 c. at a time until mixture is not too wet and can be formed into balls easily.
   ***Super side note here, I strongly reccomend using a medium scoop.  First of all it's an easy "grabber" and all your meatballs will be the same size.  I scoop out the mixture with the scooper, but roll out the meatballs in my hands. 
2. Place formed meatballs on a foiled-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  If you have a flat cooling rack that will fit on your baking sheet, you can use that to lift the meatballs off the baking sheet for even cooking.  Not a big deal if you don't have one.
3. In a preheated oven (500 degrees) bake your meatballs for 10 minutes.  Don't freak out if they are still pink in the middle.  They'll finish cooking in the slow cooker.
4. Place meatballs in a slow cooker that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and add 1 jar of sauce if you are serving meatballs subs or open-faced sandwiches.  If you are serving spaghetti and meatballs, add 2 jars of sauce. 
   ***If you want just a little more sauce for the sandwich option, add 1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce with basil, oregano and garlic. 
5. Cook on LOW for approximately 5 hours. 
6. Serve over whole wheat hoagie buns or pasta of your choice.