Turkey Meatball Appetizers

You're invited to a party where they ask you to bring appetizers for a crowd. The panic sets in and you start looking at Pinterest. We all know this is not going to end well since you have a Pinterest failed file. No worries, this recipe is easy to make and looks like you spent hours making it.

The original recipe was called Mid-West Turkey Meatball Appetizers by Midwest Living. The recipe was good but I had to take it over the top and add my twist to it. I thought, why can't you make something that tastes like Thanksgiving in one pot? After making a few batches, I got the meatballs to taste like you've been cooking for hours to make a Thanksgiving Feast. The most difficult part of this recipe is frying the mini meatballs and not burning yourself. My secret to making the meatballs uniformed, it to use a melon baller or mini scoop. Who knew? Melon ballers aren't just for melons? Consider this a multifunctional kitchen tool and this time of year I'll mention it often in my recipes.

Let's get cooking, you'll need:

2 eggs

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 lbs ground turkey

1 16 oz can cranberry sauce

1 cup bbq sauce

1/2 box Stove Top Stuffing - Turkey

Oil to fry

Slow Cooker

In a large bowl, work the onion powder, garlic powder, allspice, pumpkin pie spice, eggs and stove top stuffing into the ground turkey. The only way I found to get all the spices to incorporated into the meat, is to take off the bling and get your hands into the mixture. Add the eggs and continue to squish (like my culinary term?)

Once mixed well, use your melon baller and drop small meatballs into the hot oil. You want to just get a crust on the outside but not cook the meatballs all the way thru.

Drain meatballs on a paper towel before adding to the slow cooker. Put the meatballs in the slow cooker then add the bbq sauce and the cranberry sauce.

Cover and set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. (the longer you let this stay in the slow cooker the better it is, but don't go beyond 6 hrs)

I transfer the meatballs to a fancy dish with a lid and bring it to the party. Next to the meatballs on the buffet table, I always bring fancy toothpicks. It's all about the presentation my friends.

Enjoy as your friends rave about what a great cook you, then they pause and ask, "what is that delicious spice?" It's our secret that it's cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie spice. The warming spice offsets the sweetness of the dish.

Since it's the holiday season, I'm going to top my meatballs with fresh cranberries and chopped parsley. That traditional red and green will make this dish so festive.