Turkey Meatballs And Ricotta Bake With Penne Recipes

PENNE WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl add bread crumbs milk and mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and 1/2 cup Romano cheese and mix well. Add turkey and gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into golf-size balls.
• In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. When almost smoking, add meatballs and without moving or turning the meat, allow it to brown for about 3 minutes. Turn meatballs and brown other side. Continue to cook until all sides are golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow meatballs to simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and keep warm on stove. Be careful not to overhandle the meatballs since they are soft and fragile.
• In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water since you want to retain the pasta natural starches so that the sauce will cling to the penne.
• Remove meatballs from sauce and place in serving bowl. Pour some tomato sauce over meatballs, but leave about 1 cup of sauce in skillet. Place the cooked penne into the skillet with the remaining sauce and toss well. Pour sauced pasta into a large serving bowl. Serve alongside the meatballs.
• In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors. Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to six months.

GROUND TURKEY-RICOTTA MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix turkey, ricotta cheese, bread crumbs, basil, egg, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until just combined.
• Scoop mixture using a 1-ounce measure onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip meatballs and bake until browned and no longer pink in the centers, about 5 minutes more.

BAKED PENNE WITH CHICKEN MEATBALLS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, mix bread crumbs and milk; let stand 5 minutes. Add egg, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley, 2 finely chopped cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper; stir to combine. Add chicken; gently combine. Shape into 32 (1 1/4-inch) meatballs.
• In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook meatballs in oil about 6 minutes, turning a few times to brown all sides. Add pasta sauce and spinach in batches; cook until sauce is hot and spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook and drain penne as directed on package. Carefully add to pasta sauce and meatball mixture in skillet.
• In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, 1 finely chopped clove garlic, pepper flakes and remaining 1/4 teaspoons each salt and pepper.
• In baking dish, pour half of the pasta mixture. Place half of the ricotta mixture in dollops over pasta. Spread remaining pasta mixture in baking dish; top with dollops of remaining ricotta. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

TURKEY MEATBALLS AND RICOTTA BAKE WITH PENNE

Steps:

• For the meatballs, mix all meatball ingredients together adding in enough bread crumbs to bind the mixture together.
• Form into about 1-inch size balls.
• In a large skillet heat oil and cook the meatballs, shaking the skillet until browned and cooked through (about 6-7 minutes) transfer the meatballs to paper towels to drain.
• Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until JUST firm-tender; drain.
• Set oven to 375 degrees.
• Grease a 4-quart baking dish.
• In a small bowl mix together shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
• Spoon about 1-1/2 cups sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, then spread half of the meatballs on top of sauce.
• Then spoon HALF of the pasta on top.
• Spread HALF of the remaining sauce and HALF of the cheese mixture over pasta.
• Top with remaining meatballs and then drop dollups of ricotta cheese over meatballs.
• Spread remaining pasta over the ricotta.
• Top with remaining sauce, and then sprinkle with remaining mozza/Parmesan mixture.
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until golden.
• Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

PENNE WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, add bread crumbs, eggs, milk, 1/2 cup Romano, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well. Add turkey and gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Shape into golf-size balls.
• In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. When almost smoking, add meatballs and without moving or turning the meat, allow it to brown for about 3 minutes. Turn meatballs and brown other side. Continue to cook until all sides are golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow meatballs to simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and keep warm on stove. Be careful not to over handle the meatballs since they are soft and fragile.
• In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water since you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will cling to the penne.
• Remove meatballs from sauce and place in serving bowl. Pour some tomato sauce over meatballs, but leave about 2/3 cup of sauce in skillet. Place the cooked penne into the skillet with the remaining sauce and toss well. Pour sauced pasta in a large serving bowl. Serve alongside the meatballs. Sprinkle remaining Romano on top.

SAVORY TURKEY-RICOTTA MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine ground turkey breast with the other ingredients in a bowl and then shape mixture into about 18 meatballs.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Coat pan with cooking spray.
• Add meatballs, and brown on all sides.
• Remove from skillet; transfer to a broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and bake for 15 minutes or until done.
• To freeze: Follow cooking directions, then allow meatballs to cool to room temperature.
• Place on a baking sheet, making sure they don't touch one another, and place in the freezer for an hour.
• Next, transfer hardened meatballs to an airtight container, and store in the freezer.
• Thaw meatballs in the refrigerator, then bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or untinl heated.

BAKED PENNE WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil. In large bowl, blend ground turkey, corn flakes, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Shape into 12 meatballs. Transfer to pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn and bake additional 15 minutes. Cook pasta as directed, drain.
• Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with cooking spray. Add pasta. Toss with meatballs, marinara sauce, and 1 cup of the Kraft Cheese. Scatter remaining cheese over dish.
• Bake, uncovered for 25 minutes.

BAKED ZITI WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Make meatballs:
• In a bowl stir together well turkey, garlic, bread crumbs, onion, pine nuts, parsley, egg, salt, and pepper and form into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. In a large heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and cook half of meatballs, shaking skillet, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towels to drain and brown remaining meatballs in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same manner.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. and oil a 3- to 4-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish.
• In a kettle of salted boiling water cook pasta until just al dente, about 8 minutes, and drain well. In a small bowl toss together mozzarella and Romano.
• Spoon about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and half of meatballs into prepared dish and spoon half of pasta on top. Spread half remaining sauce and half cheese mixture over pasta. Top with remaining meatballs and drop dollops of ricotta over meatballs. Spread remaining pasta over ricotta and top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese mixture.
• Bake ziti in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden, and let stand 10 minutes before serving.