Pasta Sauce with Ground Turkey Meatballs
| Prep Time: 60 min | Serves: 8 |
| Cooking Time: 90 min | Yield: 3/4 cup |
I don't mind jarred pasta sauce, but I have to embellish it. I bake meatballs to add to the sauce, and I also saute veggies to add some fiber. I included in this recipe what I used today, but I usually just use whatever's in the 'fridge. TIP: This can also be used as a tasty lasagna sauce. I just brown the ground turkey, instead of making meatballs from it.
Ingredients
- 52 oz Chunky Gardenstyle Sundried Tomato & Sweet Basil Pasta Sauce
- 1 cup Mushrooms
- 1 Tomato, Large
- 16 oz Ground Turkey
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 78 g Carrots
- 1 large Green Bell Pepper
- 150 g Vidalia Onion
- 4 tbs Parmesan And Romano
- 1 Light Multi-grain English Muffins
Directions
I make my meatballs first.
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
* Very finely dice about 1/4 cup of the carrot, the bell pepper, the onion, the mushroom, and saute them together in 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil.
* Once diced veggies are soft, add them to the ground turkey and mix well.
* Tear the English muffin into a blender pitcher or food processor. Lightly pulse into bread crumbs and add to turkey / veggie mixture.
* Add the Parmesan cheese to the turkey mixture and blend well with a spoon.
* Drop by teaspoons (I use a meatball scoop) onto a cookie sheet. I cover mine with foil, but you can lightly spray a sheet with cooking spray.
* Bake at 350 until cooked through (about 30 minutes).
* While the meatballs bake, slice the carrots; dice the pepper; slice the mushrooms, tomatoes and any other veggies you've chosen to include. They don't have to be minced as they were for the meatballs.
* Saute the veggies in the other 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauce pot (I think mine holds 2 quarts; it's not one of the huge, tall stock pots, but it is my largest pot).
* When they are soft, add the 2 jars of pasta sauce to the pot.
* Check your meatballs; if they're done, add them to the pot as well, and simmer this concoction on medium low for about 30 minutes.