It has recently been brought to my attention that I haven’t posted in 4,536,101 days.

I promise I have a good explanation…

Beer.

And maybe a whiskey ginger thrown in there.

It’s cool, I can stop whenever I want to. (Which was…yesterday. I’m officially on the coffee/water/salad track at this point in time.)

Between Christmas, family, dinners out, friends in town, shenanigans and New Years (in that exact order), I haven’t been spending much time in my kitchen. In fact, I’ve been spending such a small amount of time there that there have actually been days when I’ve had to hit up the local Einstein’s Bros. Bagels for breakfast before work. Delicious? Yes. Healthy? Shhh. Inexpensive? No.

Honestly, when did getting a bagel and a coffee mean spending more than $5?

HOWEVER, in an effort to get back in the game while simultaneously prepping for a night of open bar on New Year’s Eve, I cooked up a rather delicious dinner for myself and my friend, Colleen.

I knew that these New Year’s festivities would require some serious sustenance (did I mention there was open bar?), so I figured a good dose of protein would serve us well.

And EVERYONE likes protein in ball form, amiright?

So I whipped up a quick sweet and sour sauce (remember this chicken from How Sweet Eats? Same sauce.) with some Asian-inspired turkey meatballs.

Sweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs
serves 4 – 5

1 – 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 egg
3 scallions, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup (depending on your taste) cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt+pepper, to taste
1 T soy sauce
1 t Sriracha (or hot sauce of your choice)
1 t fish sauce
1 T vegetable oil

for sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 T ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
1 T soy sauce
1/2 T garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place all meatball ingredients through fish sauce in a large mixing bowl and lightly mix until just combined.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Roll meat mixture into golf ball-sized balls and place in skillet once oil begins to shimmer.
4. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, browning all sides and remove to a baking dish.
5. While meatballs brown, combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix.
6. Pour sauce over meatballs and bake, turning occasionally for 20-25 minutes until completely cooked through and sauce is bubbling and starting to thicken.

I didn’t use the extra-lean turkey for this recipe because what are the holidays for if not partaking in even the smallest of indulgences? Plus, I think it helped keep the meatballs tender and gave them a bit more flavor.  But use whatever you prefer, they’ll be good no matter what.

I served these meatballs over brown rice that I cooked and tossed with a shredded carrot, some more sliced scallions and a dash or two of sesame oil.  I figured Asian meatballs would go well with rice, but then I realized that I always eat meatballs with rice.

Remember these?  I serve them with rice. Always have, always will.

Clearly just because it’s a New Year doesn’t mean I’m making much in the way of changes in my life.

‘Balls and rice 4evah.