Turkey Meatballs over Baked Polenta

Last night I made Giada's Marinara Sauce and tonight my goal was to make her Turkey Meatballs.

I picked up the biggest bag of parsley yesterday.

I started out placing everything in the mixing bowl in hopes I could achieve one of those cool cookbook pictures where all the ingredients are separated.  Then I added the egg.  Oops.

I added the ground turkey and mixed for a short time before forming (what felt like a million) mini meatballs and placing on parchment paper.

Pre-made polenta from Trader Joes was sliced and seasoned with EVOO, salt & pepper before baking in the oven for about 20 mins at 375 degrees.  Flipped once.

After cooking the meatballs, it was time to re-heat the marinara.  Giada's marinara is so thick and hearty - I love it.

I have a very good helper in the kitchen each night that I cook.

Not sure if anyone else has one of those annoying spaces between the oven and the counter top, but I swear it sucks things down there.

Luckily, my helper likes to keep things clean.  

I really don't understand how he squeezes his body in this space.

But I appreciate his help.  

Giada's turkey meatballs and marinara over Trader Joes polenta came out fantastic.

Topped with a little grated Romano and fresh basil.

I think I achieved a slightly healthier version of my Tomato Palace favorite starter - Meatballs and Polenta.


Enjoy the rest of your night!

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Flop

The last couple weeks have pretty much been a P90x flop.  I have done the workouts here and there, but not consistently and I have all the excuses in the world.  I was sick for a few days with a cold, worked late 2 days last week, went for a run and didnt feel like it afterwards, etc, etc, etc.  

I am trying to come up with a way to incorporate it into my exercise, without losing my running endurance.  It is really hard for me to get up early in the morning and get it out of the way.  I dont feel that I am cut out for early morning workouts.  I like entirely too much TV that is on later.  And I dont have a DVR.  So, there you have it.  

This morning, I made breakfast tacos.  Egg whites, grilled corn tortillas, tomatoes, green onion, and avocado.  No cheese because we were all out, but surprisingly, I didn't miss it.

I eventually mustered up enough motivation to hit the gym and wanted to do something different.  I ended up doing a 40 min treadmill hike.  I set the treadmill to the "Hills" setting and cranked up the speed to a fast walk.  It was pretty tough.

I came home and picked up a favorite cookbook of mine that was starting to collect dust.  Sometimes I get caught up searching the internet for recipes and dont use my cookbooks enough.

I decided to go with Giada's classic marinara sauce.  It was simple and straightforward and didn't have a million ingredients.  The house smells great right now.  Tomorrow night, I plan to use it as I try re-create one of my favorite dishes from the Tomato Palace in Columbia, MD.  

I picked up a new stuffed animal for Oscar and he had a blast playing tonight.   He loves stuffed animals, especially the squeaky kind.  He is a very manly and tough dog. ;)

Lucy was trying to figure out what that thing was and whether she should be scared of it.


I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.  Be back tomorrow with more Giada.

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