turkey quinoa meatballs

Yesterday I was driving home from Virginia Beach (about 4 hours with no traffic, and there is always traffic) and I’ll admit I was probably tailgating the person in front of me juuuuust a little but only because he was hanging out in the left lane going 5 miles under the speed limit. Pet peeve.

I tried to eventually pass him on the right because he wasn’t moving but was blocked by a truck. When this left-lane-loiterer noticed what I was trying to do, he started flashing me an “L” with his hand. As in “L” for “loser.”

It’s so weird that the state of Virginia allows people to get a drivers license at the age of 13.

He kept doing it, to the point where I think he wasn’t sure if I saw the gesture so he started doing it with his right hand, too. Just in case.

If you’re not sitting at your computer trying this, doing the “L” with the thumb and pointer finger of your right hand just makes the letter backwards. Yes.

I really can’t complain about my job because it is insanely flexible and has a lot of perks BUT when I’m stuck in traffic and surrounded by idiots, it’s hard to appreciate this.

Luckily I’m about to get a whole lot of life perspective because in three days I leave for a week-long trip to HAITI. Going down there to screen some babies and fit some hearing aids!

I’m excited but also pretty scared. In a good way, I think.

Oh and the meatballs have nothing to do with any of this BUT they were a good make-ahead item so that when I got home last night from my long trip and was feeling irritable I could at least throw this together quickly. Food immediately improves my mood.

Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 small sweet onion, chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbs dried oregano

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Cook the quinoa according to package directions and let it cool. I recently bought the boil-in-bag quinoa and it’s great!! So convenient because you don’t have to rinse it and it doesn’t get stuck in the strainer. Highly recommend.

Combine cooled quinoa with the turkey, parsley (or any fresh herbs you have), oregano, onion, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until it’s just combined.

Form into 12-15 meatballs on a greased baking sheet. I put mine in the fridge at this point which I think can help them stay together a little better but you’re probably okay to bake them right away.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

I tossed mine in tomato sauce which happened to be jarred but this one or this one would be good, too.

Instead of going with pasta I made a meatball sub- toasted sub roll, meatballs, and then melted some mozzarella on top.

Probably disqualifies this from being a “healthy alternative” type meal, but the meatballs were great. I’ll admit they were actually way better than I expected them to be, and I will definitely make them again.