Curse you, little turkey balls!

I’m just going to cut to the chase. This week’s recipe? More work and less payoff than any crock pot recipe so far.

We tried another off the Weight Watchers site and were hoping for the rousing successes of the past two weeks to be repeated. Sadly, this was not the case.

It’s called Greek Meatballs and Artichokes. Sounded interesting enough to me to give it a shot.

My first clue that it wasn’t going to be all I’d hoped for should have been the fact that it called for ground turkey breast. And the only thing to season the meatballs was salt and sage.

And then there was all the extra work before you put the whole thing together in the crock pot.

First you had to form the little one-inch meatballs. Then you had to brown them. Then you put them in the crock pot with new potatoes, frozen artichoke hearts, chicken broth, oregano, salt and pepper and let it cook for 5-6 hours.

This time it didn’t have the opportunity to drastically overcook because Nancy was home sick that day and could turn the pot to ‘keep warm’. Still the meatballs came out dry. Saharan, even.

But before I go any further, let me share the recipe.

1 pound ground turkey breast
¼ tsp ground sage (or more to taste)
½ tsp salt (or more to taste)
8 small new potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled
9 oz frozen artichoke hearts
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp black pepper
1 cup canned chicken broth
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine turkey, sage and salt. Shape into 1-inch balls. Add meatballs to skillet and brown on all sides, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and place in a 4-5 quart slow cooker.

Add potatoes, frozen artichoke hearts, oregano, pepper and chicken broth. Cover and cook on high heat 5-6 hours.
About 15 minutes before serving, spoon cornstarch into a cup. Add 1 tbsp of the slow cooker liquid and the lemon juice; stir well. Stir into slow cooker, cover and cook on low heat 15 minutes more. Yields about 1 2/3 cups per serving.


Got that? Cook the meatballs, then put them into the slow cooker and cook them again. Oh, and cook them on HIGH for 5-6 hours. HIGH??? I actually missed that when I read the recipe at the time of execution. I cooked them on LOW for 5-6 hours. AND THE MEATBALLS WERE STILL DRY!!!! I shudder to think what would have happened if I’d cooked them on high.

I’m sure you’re wondering why I even attempted this when it goes against one of my basic rules for perfect crock pot recipes. I had to cook something before I put it in the pot.

Well, I thought it sounded interesting. And a little different. I was feeling a little energetic. I still didn’t have to chop anything. :o)

I can’t say it was a complete failure. It definitely has promise. The potatoes were rather tasty, having cooked in herbed broth for several hours. They were Nancy’s favorite part of the dish. The meatballs were decently flavored as well, even if they were dry. Oh, and did I mention they were dry?

But the lemon and cornstarch? I can only assume that it was meant to approximate an avgolemono sauce. But it didn’t thicken at all. I’m uncertain whether it was from the lack of sufficient temperature or if it was the acid in the lemon juice. But it couldn’t have been the acid…you use cornstarch to thicken the filling for lemon meringue pie. Right?

What would I change next time? Because, yes, after all that bitching, I still might try it again.

Firstly, ground turkey with dark meat in it, so the meat would be moister. Secondly, I probably wouldn’t make it in the crock pot. I’d pan-fry the meatballs, boil the potatoes and artichokes in the broth, put them all together in a pot and try thickening the sauce then. Or take all the solids out of the pot and thicken the sauce on its own.

I’d probably add some sundried tomatoes, too. Nancy suggested chopping them finely and putting them in the meatball, which sounds very yummy indeed. We got crazy and started talking about adding some chopped kalamata olives and stuffing each meatball with a tiny bit if feta. Now that sounds like it would be much more satisfying to the tastebuds. Though not quite as friendly on the points value.

I’m not done trying recipes from the WW site. So far it’s 2-1, which is still a winning record. But next time I think I’ll read a little more carefully before I try one.