Asian Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

It's Monday. Did we all survive the first weekend of August? I can persoanlly tell you that I did more than survive, I thrived! My boyfriend and I have been laying pretty low recently since we are house shopping, but Friday night we decided to treat ourselves to a date night. We ventured out to the Angry Crab Shack in Mesa, AZ, and this place did not disappoint. I tried oysters for the first time, and then our waiter plopped down 2 lb. dungeness crab in a bag with seasonings on our wax paper covered table, handed us some crab leg cracking tools, and off he went. We just laughed and laughed at how ridiculously messy the whole thing was, and I can't remember the last time I just forgot about everything; work, house hunting, etc. and just focused on having fun with my best friend. 

So I realize that these might not be the prettiest things I have ever photographed. But I am also not really sure how you can style brown meatballs with brown glaze, and make it look as appetizing as it is in real life. And can I just say, these were delicious. If I may suggest one thing, the sauce can be a bit salty, so if you are sensitive to over-salting foods, go for low-sodium ingredients, that way you are the judge at how salty your meal it. These were a great, and light, summer meal, and paired with a summer medley of veggies, I didn't feel guilty going for another meatball or two! Plus, they are packed with protein from the turkey and quinoa, which was a better choice after than the gym, when all I really wanted was a large pizza. Because; pizza. But seriously, I love these Asian inspired meatballs, and hope you do too!

Asian Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (1/2 cup dried quinoa, cooked, and cooled)
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 egg, whisked in a separate bowl
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. oil

Sauce

• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 4 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, quinoa, panko, sesame oil, egg, green onion, ginger, salt, chili powder, and pepper. Mix well with hands and then form into golf ball sized meatballs.

Preheat oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add in the meatballs to the hot pan, browning on all sides. Once the meatballs have browned, add them to a baking dish and cover with foil. Finish cooking them in the oven for about 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients and then cook in a small sauce pan, whisking occasionally until thickened and reduced.

Serve hot meatballs over a bed of freshly grilled vegetables and top with the thickened Asian sauce.