RECIPE: TURKEY MEATBALLS IN SPICY MARINARA

This is from Ellie Krieger's book "The Food You Crave," and also found on Food Network.

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground turkey meat

1 slice fresh whole-wheat bread, crusts removed, pulsed into crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

1/2 cup finely grated carrot

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

1 egg, lightly beaten (I used 1/4 cup Egg Beaters)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, liquid included

1 teaspoon finely minced canned chipotles in adobo sauce, or more to taste (I actually used less, for mass appeal)

2 teaspoons chopped oregano leaves

1 sprig fresh rosemary

Salt

1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

First, make the meatballs. Mix all ingredients together and form into 2.5 inch meatballs (this is is a big meatball!). Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes until lightly browned on the outside and nearly cooked through (but not all the way).

While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent (about 3 minutes) then add the garlic and cook one more minute. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, chipotles, oregano, rosemary, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until thickened. Add the basil and correct seasonings to taste. (I also blended the sauce a bit with my immersion blender, because I like marinara sauce to be smooth and all ingredients of even size, not chunky. But that's up to you!)

Add the almost-done meatballs to the sauce and simmer another 10 minutes until meatballs are completely cooked and have soaked up some of the sauce.

Serve over whole wheat pasta (I'm partial to Barilla Pasta Plus) with some parmesan on top. A serving is 1 1/3 cups pasta and sauce, and 2 big meatballs. You will be full. Total fat 10.5 grams, saturated 3 grams.