Bulk Cooking Recipe #1: Meatballs

I'm a busy, full-time working mom and I prefer to make the majority of my weekly dinners in a single afternoon. It makes for a busy couple of hours but after a long day at the office and carting off the kids to their various activities during the week, it's a relief to know we've got a wholesome, healthy meal waiting in the refrigerator/freezer/crockpot when we get home that only takes minutes to prepare. I thought I'd share some of my bulk cooking recipes in hopes others had some new ideas for us as well (so post a blog entry with your favorites!). Our first recipe to share - and family favorite - is turkey meatballs. Turkey Meatballs 2 pounds ground turkey (I use 15% fat because it's cheaper but you can use a leaner meat if you want)2 large eggs1 cup Italian breadcrumbs1/4 cup Romano cheese2 tablespoons milkTwo 26 oz. jars/cans tomato sauce (whatever your favorite prepared sauce is - we like the 'four cheese' types) Non-stick aluminum foil2 cookie sheetslarge crockpot (or large pot) Cover the cookie sheets with aluminum foil (I prefer the non-stick kind for this because the meatballs just slide off without any trouble) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the ground turkey, eggs and milk (my grandma always used milk and it makes them really tender) until combined. Then add breadcrumbs and cheese and mix well. Roll the meatballs in to small balls and place on the cookie sheet. You can arrange them close together but just be sure they aren't touching. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until lightly browned (don't fully cook them). Pour one jar of sauce into the crockpot then slide the meatballs from the pan to the pot and cover with the second jar of sauce. Set the crockpot on low for 3-4 hours or until the meatballs are cooked through the middle. By not fully cooking the meatballs in the oven, you're allowing the flavor of the sauce to infuse the meatballs to complete the cooking process. Trust me, they taste a lot better when the sauce finishes the job! This recipe makes about 48 meatballs. During the week we eat meatball sandwiches because the meatballs warm up quickly in the microwave and it takes less than 5 minutes to have a meal on the table. We also enjoy pasta dishes and adding a few meatballs to those meals makes it more interesting and nutritionally balanced. If you've got some good recipes that could easily be doubled for leftovers (I prefer the term "bulk cooking" because my kids think it sounds better than leftovers ;), tell us about it.