Buffalo Blue Cheese Turkey Meatballs

The weather is getting cooler, fall boots are on display--that means football season is right around the corner! I'm not a huge sports fan, but I am a huge fan of tailgate fare!! Here's a really quick and easy way to do meatballs-buffalo style!

I liked that there was no need to pan fry the meatballs (which is a complete pain and the sole reason I don't make meatballs more often), and the taste of the fresh parsley added a different note of flavor to the meat.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey (you can probably use any meat) 
1 small onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, divided in half
1 c. crumbled blue cheese, divided  
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl and gently mix. Once the mixture has come together, add about 3/4 cup of the blue cheese and gently incorporate.  (Overworking the mix leads to really tough meatballs!)

Roll the meat mixture into balls. (I had about 30 small ones.)

Arrange the meatballs in a nonstick skillet (I used a 16") and drizzle them with just a little bit of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through and golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. 

While the meatballs are baking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the hot sauce and whisk to combine. Toss the baked meatballs in the hot sauce to coat.Add additional blue cheese and scallions to garnish. Serve with celery and blue cheese dressing.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/buffalo-chicken-meatballs/