Turkey Bolognese with Chicken Meatballs

An art is making a healthier variation of traditional dishes and having them taste great with lots of flavor.  This happened to be one of those times.  As I am sure we all deal with when we cook for multiple guests, we have your traditional meat lovers and others who only eat white meat.  So getting to a flavor profile that satisfies each group is a challenge.  It is harder to satisfy the meat lover.  So I have learned to put in more spice and spices throughout the cooking process to overcome the change in the meat.

Recipe
Chicken Meatballs:

1. Saute in 1 tbsp of olive oil 1 diced yellow onion and 1 diced green pepper with 1 tsp each of smoked paprika, salt and pepper 
2. Add 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and reduce by half.  Then remove from stove and let cool
3. Combine vegetable mixture with 24 oz of ground chicken and form into balls
4. Place on cookie tray and cook for 30 minutes at 325 degrees turning meatballs over about 20 minutes into the cooking time

Turkey Bolognese:

1. Saute in 1 tbsp of olive oil 1 diced yellow onion and 4 cloves of minced garlic until softened – 2 – 3 minutes
2. Turn heat to medium high and add turkey and cook until it is mostly brown
3. Add 1 tbsp oregano, 2 – 3 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp each salt and pepper
4. Add 3 diced carrots and 2 diced celery stalks and combine and cook for 2 minutes
5. Add in one 28 oz can of tomato sauce, 1 – 7 oz can of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of tomato juice and bring to a boil
6. Mix thoroughly and reduce heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes
7. Add meatballs to pot and simmer another 10 minutes turning the meatballs over 1/2 way through process
8. Heat pasta in separate pot and serve al dente
9. Plate with pasta, turkey bolognese, 1 meatball and a few shavings of parmesan