honey sriracha meatballs with sheet pan peppers and broccoli

hi friends!

somewhere in the middle of this week marked a turning point where i felt less like a visitor dropping in for a visit to the bed and breakfast that is actually my current life, and more like a gal who is doing it! participating! has an agenda that’s not exactly packed with activities but there are a few things jotted down! it’s baby steps blotted with a new coffee pot fit for two adults learning to live together, forcing myself to drive to my new target without google maps, researching exactly when cherry blossom season will be at it’s pinkest and peakest, and baking a lot of pistachio chocolate chunk cookies. nothing hugely monumental, but things are smoothing towards a coasting-but-fun normal. deeeeep breath out.

somewhere in the middle of the week i also began daydreaming about meatballs, to which i cannot overstate enough that meatballs are my favorite meat vehicle and i’ve deeply loved every single one i’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. also file that under ‘things i have in fact regrettably said out loud, in front of other people.’

this is one of those recipes that’s great for pilfering through the depths of your cupboards to reach for the maybe not so reached ingredients (looking at you, rice wine vinegar,) and fill in the cracks with universally loved flavors to make some truly epic and truly easy rice bowls. sriracha is a thing we can all get on board with, yes? i’m even going to argue that sriracha with honey and done two ways (hi, hello, sauce and mayo) is way way way way better. we’re tossing sheet pan turkey meatballs with a glazey, sweet and sticky sauce, and then we’re going completely off the rails and drizzling a creamy mayo over the top, all while piling it over fluffy rice and layering it with veggies we love.

i mean. you need it, right?

YES.

a few things before we get going:

- it takes a little bit of prep (re: -sub 15 minutes) to get the meatballs and the veggies going at the same time, but once you do, it’s smooth sailing to pop them both in the oven at the same time
- as mentioned above, we’ve got a honey sriracha sauce AND a honey sriracha mayo and both are extremely necessary
- if ground turkey isn’t your jam, you can use chicken, pork, beef, something vegan, truly whatever floats your meatball boat
- you could do this totally paleo, but the rice really makes an ideal bed the meatballs and veggies. so much fluff!
- all the extras at the end - scallions, basil, lime - are exactly that; extras. BUT, so much flavor happening here that i’d be remiss not to super urge you to go for the extras

honey sriracha meatballs with sheet pan peppers and broccoli
makes: 4-6 servings
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes

for the meatballs (makes 22-26 meatballs):
2lbs ground turkey
2 eggs
2 scallions, chopped
2tsp garlic powder
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp chili flake (skip if you don’t like it spicy)
1 1/2tsp salt

for the veggies:
2 heads of broccoli, chopped into florets
2 bell peppers, sliced
1/2tbsp oil
1tsp garlic powder
1/2tsp salt

for the honey sriracha sauce:
1/3c sriracha
1/4c honey
1/4c rice wine vinegar
1/4c coconut aminos (soy sauce works here, too)
2tsp sesame oil
juice from 1 lime
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp ground ginger

for the mayo:
1/4c paleo mayonnaise (i like this one from primal kitchen)
2tbsp sriracha
1tbsp honey

rice, for serving
scallions, fresh basil, and lime wedges, for serving

preheat the oven to 400.
mix the ingredients for the meatballs (your hands are your best tools here, fun!) and roll into golf ball-sized balls. arrange on a baking sheet. next, toss the broccoli and peppers with the oil and spaces, and arrange on a separate baking sheet. pop both sheets into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes until the meatballs are fully cooked through and the broccoli and peppers begin to crisp.

meanwhile, whisk the ingredients for the mayo, and set aside. in a separate large bowl, whisk the ingredients for the honey sriracha sauce until smooth.

once the meatballs have finished cooking, pour the honey sriracha sauce into a pan over medium heat. add the meatballs to the pan, and simmer for 10 minutes, gently spooning the sauce over the meatballs to coat each one (the sauce will thicken as you do this.)

serve the meatballs and veggies over rice, and top with the mayo. i like to add chopped scallions, some fresh torn basil leaves, and a squeeze of lime here, but you do you.