09-26-2014, 04:28 PM
I always put the meatballs in raw, it's a waste of time to cook them first and you lose the flavor. Unless you're using cheap hamburger that's going to seep a lot of grease into the sauce there is no need to cook them first.
I've been doing a healthier version with ground turkey or chicken. I run a big handful of spinach through the food processor with 1 carrot, several garlic cloves, parsley, parm cheese, 1 egg, a couple of slices of whatever bread I have on hand and some pepper, seasoning salt and pepper flakes. Then I add the ground chicken or turkey to the mixture. They have a green hue from the spinach, but the sauce covers that up and my kids actually like them better than traditional meatballs.
I've been doing a healthier version with ground turkey or chicken. I run a big handful of spinach through the food processor with 1 carrot, several garlic cloves, parsley, parm cheese, 1 egg, a couple of slices of whatever bread I have on hand and some pepper, seasoning salt and pepper flakes. Then I add the ground chicken or turkey to the mixture. They have a green hue from the spinach, but the sauce covers that up and my kids actually like them better than traditional meatballs.