Something Not Cake

Tonight for dinner, we had porcupine balls. My mom used to make these during the cold months when I was a kid. She'd use white rice, garlic salt, ground beef, and Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup. These days, I make them with different ingredients -- it's healthier that way, you know? But they still taste great, and they're still an excellent comfort food. Very filling, too! And they make good leftovers.

Porcupine Balls

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground turkey breast
1 egg
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c minced yellow onion
1/2 c cooked brown rice
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz. creamy tomato soup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350* F.
2. Saute the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes.
3. Meanwhile, dump the ground turkey, egg, brown rice, and some salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. When the garlic and onion are done, add them to the bowl. Use your hands (don't wuss out!) to mix the ingredients together.
4. Mold the mixture into largeish balls and place them in a 9x9-inch pan as you finish them. It's okay if they're all friendly and touch each other. A food orgy is encouraged under these circumstances!
5. Pour half of the creamy tomato soup over the porcupine balls. Cover with foil. (You can poke some holes in the foil. I usually do, but that's because I'm a bit violent and bloodthirsty, and I like stabbing my dinner.)
6. Bake for about an hour.
7. Remove pan from the oven when the hour is up. Take off the foil. The porcupine balls will often end up filling the pan with a lot of juice and fat, which isn't very tasty. I usually drain that off and then cover them with the remaining creamy tomato soup, and then I put the foil back on top. You can throw them back into the oven for another few minutes, but they'll heat the soup through and cool off enough to eat all at the same time if you just let them be for about 5 minutes. That's what I'd do.
8. Serve and enjoy! We had ours with steamed squash and broccoli tonight. Mmmm. And the little bits of rice, turkey, and tomato left on your plate after you've demolished one or two are delicious if you coax them onto a small dinner roll.