Crockpot Turkey Meatballs {dairy free, egg free}

Ingredients

Ingredients for meatballs:
• 16 ounces pasta sauce (homemade or jarred, add to crockpot before adding meatballs)
• 1# ground turkey – 94%lean (I use Plainville Farms, humanely raised)
• 1 Tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 Tablespoons water (flax egg), set aside for 5 minutes until it gels (this is your binder)
• 1/4 cup brown rice bread crumbs (I use Holgrain Brown Rice Bread Crumbs)
• 1 medium carrot (3-4 baby carrots) shredded, about 1/3 cup
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. basil and oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
Ingredients for spaghetti squash:
• 2 medium spaghetti squash, carefully split lengthwise

Instructions

Method for turkey meatballs:
1. Prep your crockpot by adding pasta sauce, homemade or jarred. We want to add the sauce first then we will add the meatballs once they are mixed.
2. Combine ground flax with water to make your flax egg, then set aside for 5 minutes until it gels.
3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add ground turkey, flax mixture, brown rice bread crumbs, shredded carrot, crushed garlic, and spices.
4. Use your hands to mix together all ingredients.
5. Use a cookie scooper to scoop meatballs so they are all uniform size. I made golf ball size, but you can make them larger if you prefer. Add meatballs to crockpot in sauce once they are formed.
6. Once all the meatballs are added to the crockpot, cover and set to Low. Cook for 4 hours (for golf ball size) up to 6 hours for larger size.
Method for spaghetti squash:
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. Carefully split spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.
9. Scoop out seeds and discard.
10. Place cut side down into glass roasting pan, add 1 inch of water.
11. Roast for 40 minutes until tender.
12. Allow to cool 10 minutes, then turn over squash and shred with a fork. Return shreddings to each squash shell.
13. To serve: Place meatballs and sauce on top of squash.
14. Enjoy!