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Thanksgiving recipes: 20 ideas

Cut through the clutter of Thanksgiving recipes with 20 favorite recipes from Stir It Up! bloggers. Whether you're a holiday-hosting pro, or a Thanksgiving newbie, you're bound to find an inspiring dish. 

Starters: Cranberry chipotle meatballs

The Gourmand Mom
Mini cranberry chipotle meatballs make a perfect appetizer for a holiday meal or gathering.

  • By Laura Edwins Contributor

Makes about 60 appetizer-sized meatballs

For the meatballs:
 

2 pounds ground turkey

1/2 medium onion, very finely diced

4 eggs

1-1/2 – 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper

For the sauce:

2 cans jellied cranberry sauce

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1-2 chipotle peppers (from a can of chipotle in adobo)

To prepare the meatballs: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine ground turkey, onions, eggs, bread crumbs, salt and pepper until well-blended. Form into 1-inch balls. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet which has been lightly rubbed with oil. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until cooked through.

To prepare the sauce: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium/medium-low heat. (Use one chipotle pepper for mild/medium heat or two chipotle peppers for medium-hot.) Use a fork to smash up the cranberry sauce. Stir and cook for about 5-7 minutes until a sauce forms. Remove the sauce from heat and allow to cool slightly. Puree the mixture using a blender, immersion blender, or food processor. Pour the sauce over the cooked meatballs.

Meatballs and sauce can be refrigerated or frozen until use.

To reheat: Reheat the meatballs in a foil-covered baking dish in a 350-degree oven, until the meatballs are heated through, about 25-30 minutes (frozen meatballs will take longer). Periodically stir the meatballs as they reheat. Alternately, the meatballs and sauce can be reheated in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in a slow-cooker.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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