Turkey Meatball Stroganoff

The homemade version.

The Woman's Day Version. Photo: Con Poulos; Food styling by Simon Andrews;
Prop styling by Marina Malchin

It's been a while since I sat down to write. Heck, it's been a while since I actually cooked. I know I'm supposed to be doing it like every day, but I've just been exhausted for the past week and haven't gotten much of anything done. I did become a chocolatier and now sell Dove Chocolates at home parties, but that's another story. This story is about cooking healthy meals for my family, which I need to get back to doing because eating out is not healthy and it's expensive. I'm excited to make this meal because Lila loves beef stroganoff. At least the kind that comes from a hamburger helper box. This should be tasty. At least she will eat it--she loves noodles and meatballs. As long as it does't involve grilled peaches. Peaches should not be grilled, and if they are, not put with spinach and white wine vinegar. Yuck.

Turkey Meatball Stroganoff

Woman's Day Magazine, November 2014

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 oz) package egg noodles
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. Red Currant Jelly, plus more for serving
• 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for serving
• 1/4 c. bread crumbs
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 package (10 oz) cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
• 3/4 c. dry white wine
• 1/3 c. lowfat sour cream
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

I looked all over the town of Fairmont, in every aisle of the grocery store, and was unable to locate red currant jelly. I could find a red currant and plum chutney with (I believe) mint, but I wasn't going to replace the jelly with it. According to the Cook's Thesaurus at foodsubs.com, you can replace red currant jelly with grape jelly or a combo of apple jelly and lemon juice. I have grape jelly, so that's my plan. I'm not sure if I like the idea of grape jelly in stroganoff (or with meat in general), but it sounds fun I guess? 

I also spent a long time trying to find cremini mushrooms, until I finally just googled it and found out that cremini mushrooms are baby bellas. That is so much easier. I added it to the ingredient parts for anyone who wanted to print off the recipe, so you didn't search forever. 

One thing that does bother me about this recipe is the lack of a vegetable. I know, mushrooms are kind of like a vegetable, and many people consider them to be one, but I want a real, brightly colored veggie. I'm thinking about going with green beans as a side dish, most likely canned no-sodium-added french cut green beans. They are delicious any way you serve them (I tend to go straight out of the can, maybe a bit warmed but no seasoning).

Directions:

1. Heat broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil. Cook the noodles according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg, jelly, allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir in the garlic and parsley, then the bread crumbs. Let sit for 2 minutes. Add the turkey and mix to combine.
3. Form the turkey mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls (about 20 total) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Broil until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, season with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream and mustard. Toss with the meatballs and additional parsley, if desired, and serve over the noodles.

This was definitely a first: Lila loved it. She wouldn't touch the meatballs (too much "green stuff" inside) or mushrooms, but she loved the noodles and sauce part. She even had seconds! Andy, on the other hand, took one bite of noodles (too much mustard) and one bite of meatball (why are these sweet? Oh, grape jelly? No.). I was somewhere in the middle. I could eat it, but I wouldn't choose to ever again. And after two meatballs and a small scoop of noodles, I was done. We ended up eating the green beans and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Lila asked if I could make it again sometime. I guess, since she loved it, I'll have to fix the recipe a bit and try again. I'm thinking no jelly in the meatballs (substitute milk and use seasoned bread crumbs) and 1/2 the amount of mustard. Then it should be good. I hope.

Tips: The sauce was quite thin, after I stirred in the sour cream and mustard I added a couple spoonfulls of flour to thicken the sauce.

Verdict? Taste of Day Redo