Turkey Quinoa Meatballs and Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Tonight was another crockpot meal. Since I work all day, I did my meal prep last night. I made and partially cooked the meatballs last night so that they could slow cook for the day while I was at work. These two recipes are not together! I served them together, but found them separately. It was very good, I must say.

Turkey Quinoa Meatballs 

Ingredients: 

1 lb 99% lean ground turkey breast

1 lb 94% lean ground turkey

2/3 cup cooked quinoa (cooked in flavored stock)

3 garlic gloves, minced

1 large egg, beaten lightly

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons of finely grated romano cheese

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 large sweet onion, sliced into thin rounds

2 (28oz) cans crushed tomatoes

Directions: Combine turkey, quinoa, garlic, beaten egg, olive oil, cheese, basil, oregano, salt and pepper into large bowl. Mix throughly but quickly (important not to over mix). Roll into mini balls - a bit smaller than a golfballs. Place on baking sheet. Layer sliced onion on bottom of crockpot and add 1 can of crushed tomatoes. Heat a large skillet (med-high) and add 1/2 tbsp olive oil. You want to sear the top and bottom of the meatballs until they are golden (1 min per side on average). Flip them by gently tossing with a spoon or shake pan to roll them. Add meatballs to crockpot. Cover with other can of crushed tomatoes. Cook on low for 6 hours.

The browning step is very important to keep the meatballs tender and from being so messy. The great thing about this recipe is that you can brown them one day (like I did) and then store them in the fridge until you're ready to use them (you can also freeze them).

Recipe credit to: How Sweet It Is (www.howsweeteats.com)

Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 tbsp butter

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp flour

1 cup milk (fat free)

1 tbsp cream cheese

1 cup freshly grated parm cheese, plus 2 tbsp for topping

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp ground pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep squash by cutting in half with a sharp knife (carefully!!!). Scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet covered with water. Bake for about 1 hour. Once cooked, scrape out "spaghetti" stands into the center. Sauce: melt butter in small pot. Once hot, add garlic and saute for 1-2 mins. Whisk in flour and cook for another minute, still stirring. Whisk in milk until lumps are gone. When hot, add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan, salt and pepper. Spoon sauce equally into each spaghetti squash half. Gently pull up the strands to coat as much as possible with sauce. Top with extra parmesan and place under broiler for 2-3 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Recipe adapted from: Food Doodles