Teriyaki Meatballs

I am not a big fan of Teriyaki anything usually, but with this homemade Teriyaki sauce, these meatballs are delicious. They seem to turn out better when Ryan makes them, than when I make them, so this is kind of his thing if I can get him to do it! We have made them with ground turkey (they seem to be a little more mushy with this than beef) and our regular is with ground beef. We have substituted the bread crumbs with ground oatmeal or ground cashews (the cashews were good because it gave it a crunch instead of making them kind of mushy with bread crumbs). Note: do not use Progresso Panko Bread Crumbs. I had these on hand last week when I made them and they turned out really mushy. It is best to use fresh made bread crumbs from fresh toast. We usually 1 1/2 the Teriyaki sauce to make them a little more moist and it calls for 6 green onions, but I only do maybe 4 and cut them up really small. I don't have crushed red pepper, so I have used seasoned pepper, or just omitted this ingredient all together. It is great with rice (we use brown rice) and a side of fresh steamed broccoli or peas! Enjoy!

Found on Comeandgetem.blogspot.com

• 1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced (optional, but tastier with)
  
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• prepared teriyaki sauce (see recipe below)
  
• 1 cup bread crumbs, fresh (or I use nuts ground up in the blender or food processor, flax seed flour, or ground up oats)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• dash garlic
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• dash crushed red peppers
• Cooked rice
  

Make teriyaki sauce (recipe below). Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, carrot, 1/3 of prepared teriyaki sauce, bread crumbs, and spices. Blend well. Using a 2-ounce scoop (or large spoon), form meatballs and place in a shallow glass baking dish (or on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil). Sprinkle meatballs with sesame seeds. Pour remaining teriyaki sauce over meatballs. Roast in a oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown on the outside, cooked through, and sauce has thickened. Serve over rice.

Teriyaki sauce:

• 6 T brown or white sugar (you can use less if desired)
  
• 4 T organic catsup (no high fructose corn syrup)
  
• 6 T soy sauce
• dash garlic (or 1 tsp minced garlic)
  

Combine until mixed thoroughly.