A few months ago, during my last semester of grad school, I was perusing Pinterest one evening looking for inspiration to bring life to the ground turkey, veggies, and brown rice I had in my kitchen. I did not want to go to the store for additional ingredients and wanted to create an "all-in-one" meal that I could meal-prep for lunches the rest of the week. I came across this pin, which inspired me to create a lunch bowl featuring Asian-influenced meatballs. My meal, although different from the one featured in the pin, was quite yummy so I made it again. And again. Then I grew a bit tired of it so I left it alone for a while. I revisited the recipe (in my mind. I typically only record recipes for y'all 🙂 ) recently and decided to make it even more interesting with Sriracha bacon. Sriracha anything usually takes a dish well over the top. Add bacon to the same sentence and people's eyes glaze over for a moment before they stop you and say "Wait, did you say Sriracha...bacon? Where did you get that?" Well, I made it. And so can you! It's so easy and so delicious. The meatballs, bacon, and veggies come together over rice to make these sweet and spicy meatball bowls.
It's actually kind of criminal that you haven't been topping all your food with Sriracha bacon. Don't sit there feeling ashamed, though. Forgive yourself. Try this dish out. Change your outlook on life lol! I like to meal prep these bowls for a work week of exciting lunches. Just add the steamed rice of your choice (I prefer brown) and you will be good to go.
I'd love to know what y'all usually eat for lunch on weekdays. Do you make your own or eat out? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
Sweet and Spicy Meatball Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground turkey
- ½ pound white cello mushrooms divided in half
- 6 slices smoked bacon
- 5 carrots sliced into rounds
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 3 cloves garlic chopped or minced
- 3 teaspoons Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 ½ teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- olive oil
- splash of water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Finely chop one half of mushrooms and add to a large bowl. Add ground turkey, garlic, ground ginger, sea salt, and black pepper. Mix well and form into balls about two inches in diameter then place them on a large,non-stick pan or cookie sheet.
- Place bacon slices on another baking pan. In a small bowl, mix Sriracha with water and brush over bacon until all is used. In another small bowl, mix honey with 1.5 teaspoons of soy sauce and set aside.
- Place both pans in the oven. Bake bacon for about ten minutes, or until crisp. Bake meatballs for about 23 minutes or until cooked through. Brush meatballs with some of the honey-soy glaze and bake an additional two minutes. Once meatballs are finished baking, brush with remaining glaze.
- Place cooked bacon strips on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil and allow to cool for a few minutes then crumble paper towels into a ball in order to break up bacon. Unfold paper towels and repeat, as necessary, to completely crumble bacon.
- While bacon and meatballs cook, add olive oil to a wok or skillet over medium-high heat and sauté carrots, bell pepper, and mushrooms in order of tenderness, starting with carrots (about ten minutes total). While cooking, season with sea salt, black pepper, and remaining soy sauce.
- Assemble bowls with rice, veggies, and meatballs, then top with crumbled bacon.
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