Let's clean out the Kitchen! (Saucy Apricot and Spice Meatballs)

I have been going through my kitchen making inventory and perusing my cookbooks for what to make from what is in it.  I was going through the Better Home and Gardens: Our Best Recipes.  My grandmother gave it to me for Christmas last year and I have been marking it up to remind me to try recipes. I had ground turkey and pancetta on hand. I randomly had some dried apricots laying around, and the recipe for Saucy Apricot and Spice Meatballs totally called my name, with a few substitutions, of course.

I made Satsuma Glazed Chicken a few months ago and had the leftover glaze in the freezer.  I decided to use that instead of the sauce in the recipe so I did not have to go to the grocery.  You can use whatever you have on hand instead of the apricot nectar, perhaps some jelly or jam, or even orange juice.  Make it your own! I added pancetta to the meatballs to give it a little fat, feel free to leave that out and use all turkey.  Make this and your taste buds will sing!  Full recipe to follow the montage.

Hey little saucy meatballs!

The lovely cast.

Chop up those aromatics

Mix up all the yummy!

Form some mini meatballs of goodness

Pin it and make it when you have all the ingredients on hand!

Saucy Apricot and Spice Meatballs (Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon milk
1 egg
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño, seeds removed and chopped
1/b teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
6 ounces ground turkey
6 ounces chopped pancetta (or skip this and double the ground turkey)
1/2 cup apricot nectar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Combine breadcrumbs through pancetta in a bowl and combine with your hands.  Shape into small meatballs and place on baking sheet.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.  To make the sauce, combine the rest of the ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook until thickened and bubbly.  Add the turkey meatballs to the sauce to coat.  Serve as a main dish with some sides, or try it as a party food.  As an aside, I did not make the sauce, I used the satsuma glaze I had in my freezer.  I can assure you the sauce is yummy though!  Or just make the satsuma glaze, you will not regret it!

Happy Cooking!

Missy