I want to thank you for sticking with me through the last couple of weeks.
It has been very difficult for Ellen and I to adjust to not having Stuart around but the pain is slowly giving way to happy memories. Thank you to all of you who offered your kind words and support, we really appreciate your encouragement.
Greek style meatballs is one of my Thursday crock pot dinners.
The interesting thing about this recipe is that although I am a big fan of Greek food I have not only never had Greek meatballs, I have never heard of them before I found this recipe. My original thought was that Greek meatballs didn't really exist, they were only a new creation from someones kitchen and the best name they could come up with was Greek-style meatballs. Imagine the expression on my face when I did an internet search and found out that yes, they really do exist. So they do exist and in Greek they are called Keftedes, they have many regional variations and they can be served as an appetizer or as a main course. The biggest differences that I could find between Greek meatballs and Italian or Swedish meatballs are the spices and the sauce. The spices used to make them tend to be a little bitter and the sauce is more like a wine sauce than a tomato based or brown sauce.
The taste is different than what most people would expect from meatballs but like most Greek food it is definitely worth trying. The pairing of Greek meatballs with artichokes and potatoes make a great combination of flavors and textures.
The one thing that you really should be aware of before you start cooking is that artichokes can become mushy if cooked too long. The way to avoid this is by waiting until the last hour to put the artichokes in the crock pot. I don't mix them in but instead I put them on top of the other food and let them steam cook for the last hour.
Now that you have some background on Greek-style meatballs let's jump into the recipe.
Crock Pot Greek-Style Meatballs and Artichokes
Prep time 20 Min. Cook time 360 Min. Serves 6
Ingredients
cooking spray
1 pound uncooked ground turkey breast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground sage
8 small new potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled
9 ounces frozen artichoke hearts
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray.
Season turkey with salt and sage; shape into 1-inch balls. Add turkey to skillet and brown on all sides, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove and place in a crock pot.
Add potatoes, oregano, pepper, and broth; cover and cook on high heat for 5 to 6 hours.
Place the frozen artichokes on top of the other ingredients in the crock pot during the last hour of cooking.
About 15 minutes before serving, spoon cornstarch into a cup. Add 1 tablespoon of the crock pot liquid and lemon juice; stir well. Stir into crock pot, cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes more.
This recipe yields about 1-2/3 cups per serving.
This dinner is a great way to break up the monotony on tomato based crock pot recipes and add some new flavors to your cooking repertoire. As always, if you try this dinner check back here and let me know how it turned out.
Next week - Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus or Simply Delicious.
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