Food For Parents: Mini Turkey Meatballs Over Spinach and Garlic

These are pretty amazing. We eat meatballs at least once a week in my house. We change them up with different ingredients and serve them with veggies to keep them interesting and on the healthy side. Turkey is my favorite ground meat to use. It's taste is lighter and it's healthier than beef or sausage mixes. We usually eat these on a bed of sauteed spinach and garlic, but you could also have them over pasta, polenta, or a with a side of veggies. You could make these in advance. Just put them in a oven safe dish and reheat them in the oven until heated though.

Mini Turkey Meatballs

1 small onion, grated
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground turkey meat
3 tablespoons olive oil
26 ounces store-bought marinara sauce

Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, basil, Parmesan, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Using 2 forks, mix in the turkey until combined. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Lay meatballs on a large plate or baking sheet.

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Spinach with Garlic

3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons water
16 oz bag of frozen chopped spinach
2 teaspoona salt and pepper

In a medium-large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for a 2-3 minutes. Add spinach, water, salt and pepper, cover and steam until heated through.

Comments

[jeff]

That looks amazing. I live the idea of meatballs once a week. It's like a faster and more exciting version of meatloaf.

[Chris]

Love spinach and meatballs. I'm all over this.

[Josh]

Made these last night. Best meatballs I've ever had.