Wow. It has been a little while since my last post. Quick update: after just over two years of living abroad (9 months) and then with family (14 months), we finally have our own place to call home! These turkey pesto meatballs are the first recipe I’ve developed in the new place, and I’m pretty happy with them if I do say so myself.

I’ve also been cooking in a restaurant, and unsurprisingly, after cooking for 8 hours for other people.. I don’t generally feel like cooking at home. Things will start to change shortly, pinky swear.

Now. To the good stuff that actually matters. Last weekend, I dreamt up these pesto turkey meatballs and after a minor tweak for round two – I’m ready for you all to try them out yourselves!

So, grab a large bowl and add all of the ingredients before kneading (with your hands.. gross, I know) until it’s all mixed up. Form your balls and away you go! You should have 12 meatballs – they each used about 1/4 cup of the mixture. I chose to fry them because it is pretty quick and super tasty. (I’ll admit, I didn’t test them baked in the oven but I’m sure Ian wouldn’t have any issue if we had these for a third time this week so I could test the cook time out. Stay tuned on that.) Only a few minutes per side should do it. I fried these turkey pesto meatballs in a 3 1/2 qt Le Creuset French Oven. It is about 8 inches wide. I would recommend using a pot that is about that same width as it fit the 12 turkey pesto meatballs perfectly, and make sure it has a lid.

The first time we had these turkey pesto meatballs, we had fettucine drizzled in olive oil and tossed in ground pepper and parmesan cheese. I also cooked some beans from our garden in the leftover oil from frying the meatballs. The second night, Ian had brought home some zucchini from his parents’ garden, so we spiralized it and tossed it with some fresh beans in the same pot that the meatballs were in. So you’ve got quite a few possibilities here. Heck, you could form burger patties with this recipe if you want! Bon appetit!

I’m not going to lie.. I did not cook this. Sometimes (quite often) my husband, Ian, will find a recipe online that he wants to try. It’s usually meaty and manly and I’m totally okay with that cause I’m happy to eat anything that doesn’t require me to prepare it myself. Don’t get me wrong, obviously I love cooking but I also really love to be able to come home from work on a Saturday and not have to cook. I’m sure many of you can relate. A couple of times now, I’ve come home to the smell of these Cheesy Italian Meatball Sandwiches from a blog called Italian Bella Vita, one that I think I’m going to have to check for more delicious recipes.

Because I didn’t actually make these Cheesy Italian Meatball Sandwiches myself (Ian has made it twice), I can’t really give you a play by play. However, the good news is that when I asked Ian if he just followed the instructions and whether or not he had to change anything, he said: “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I followed all of the instructions exactly.” So there you have it folks, super easy – just follow the directions.

I should probably still do a bit of a review, no? Well, from what I could tell, this takes a pretty long time. Not because it is complicated, but because there is a lot involved. So make sure you’ve got some time (you do have to make an entire batch of meatballs..). But in the same breath, I’m sure if you made the meatballs ahead of time, that would be okay too.

We have the meat grinder attachment for our stand mixer (which I really recommend..) so Ian ground the pancetta and prosciutto (but the directions say to dice it). Basically, what I’m trying to say here is if you’ve got a meat grinder, this is a good time to use it!

If memory serves me correctly, Ian didn’t use two jars of sauce, and that was totally fine. You’re still going to need several napkins to eat this bad boy. The buns were from the bakery section of an Italian grocer and man were they good!

I highly recommend using the fresh mozzarella, it really will make a difference in taste for these sandwiches. I’m all for using what you’ve already got, so if you already have a block of mozza in your fridge, be my guest! Also, important to note is that you do need provolone cheese for this recipe. You’ll find that in the ‘tips’ as well as in the directions, but not in the list of ingredients.

One more idea for you all is to cut your buns small enough for one meatball and do a little slider for appetizers if you’re going to or having a party! It’s a lot of work but will be so worth it when they all disappear!

By the way, before I go.. has anyone else been listening non stop to their Spotify Best of 2017 playlist? Cause mine is sooooooooo good! Hope all of yours are just as enjoyable and bring back great memories of your year!

One last thing! I’ve started a Facebook Page for The Fancy Napkins. Check it out, give it a like and stay up to date with The Fancy Napkins!