One of the many meals that were in rotation in our household growing up was turkey meatballs and spaghetti. My mom would slice up some peppers and onions, add some spices, and add in the meatballs with some diced tomatoes. It was an easy meal she could rely on and I found myself making it often in my college and early married years. It is still a favorite, but sometimes you want to mix it up. My friend, Lauren, had pinned these meatballs and I found myself immediately wanting them. Now that Blair is on his veggie kick, I thought this would be the perfect way to get an added vegetable into our dinner.
On the weekends, we have been enjoying making green monster smoothies so when I made these meatballs, Blair nicknamed them “green monster meatballs.” We both loved them, they were surprisingly juicy. Sometimes we all know ground turkey can be a little dry. We enjoyed them in meatball subs because we all know how awesome they are. I think they would also be great on top of your favorite pasta. I think we have found a new way to enjoy ground turkey in this household!
Turkey & Spinach Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 small to medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional – adjust to your preference)
8 oz frozen chopped spinach (defrosted, drained, and squeezed to remove excess water)
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. + 2 tsp. chicken broth
1 1-1/4 lbs lean ground turkey
1/4-1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 large eggWhat you’ll do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray, set aside. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil until hot. Add onion and cook until soft & translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes, stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds- 1 minute. Add the thawed spinach to the pan and combine with onion mixture. Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth and mix well to combine. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, and egg. Add cooled onion/spinach mixture to the meat. With your hands, create meatballs that are about 1 – 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place them on the baking sheet. Bake until your meatballs are cooked through with an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve as desired.
Source: Home Cooking Memories