If one of your resolutions for 2020 is to waste less food, you’ve chosen a laudable one that is easy to keep with a little creativity and daring.

You can use up all the goodness in your fridge by recognizing containers of “opportunity” instead of “leftovers” when you  think about dinner.

We transformed 3/4 of a jar of marinara sauce and a Tupperware of leftover rotini into a lovely weekday supper with the addition of hearty turkey meatballs. Fresh basil would have been a fabulous addition, but alas, I had none, so I used dried oregano instead.

Apart from receiving many compliments from family, it was super easy, and because I used precooked ingredients, AKA “opportunity” NOT “leftovers,” I was able to prepare the whole shooting match in our trusty cast iron skillet.

Ingredients

  • Marinara sauce
  • cooked pasta
  • parmesan cheese
  • 1 package of ground turkey
  • 2 cups of Italian bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • salt,
  • Dried oregano
  • vegetable oil

Guidelines

  • In a large mixing bowl combine milk and bread crumbs until the milk is absorbed
  • add the ground turkey, egg, salt, and oregano
  • gently combine all ingredients (this is important: if you overwork the ingredients you will have tough meatballs) and form equal size balls
  • heat vegetable oil in large cast iron skillet over medium high heat
  • when the oil is hot (a drop of water will skitter across the surface of the oil), add the meatballs. Do not crowd and cook until brown on all sides.
  • turn the heat down to medium low and add the sauce. When the sauce is hot add the cooked pasta and heat until ready to eat.
  • Top with shreds of fresh basil or a sprinkle of dried herbs and parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!