Baked Turkey Meatball

So you have made your own tomato sauce, but you aren't sure of where you can use it. Of course you can use it in pasta dishes, but I like to mix things up. What better way than delicious baked meatballs? Doesn't everyone love meatballs?

Sometimes I just don't want to serve meatballs over pasta. What else is better than pasta? Potatoes!! Add some kale to that and you have a well rounded meal! I am starting to come around to kale. Although, my doctor said eating excess amounts of kale can cause kidney stones!!! So just be cautions of your intake.

I used my homemade red sauce for this recipe. You can find that recipe here!!

Okay, lets make dinner!

Baked Turkey Meatballs over Kale & Potato Hash
GF/DF

Meatball Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 cup GF breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 sweet onion
1/4 cup parsley
1 T tomato paste
1 clove garlic
1 t black pepper
1 t salt
tomato sauce (homemade or your favorite GF store bought)

Kale & Potato Hash Ingredients:

3/4 bunch of kale
3 T olive oil
1 shallot
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/4 t salt
2 T dijon mustard (Publix is GF)
2 cups shredded potatoes (I used frozen that I defrosted)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Add all of your meatball ingredients except for the tomato sauce into a large bowl.

Mix well.

Using your hands, form even sized meatballs and place 1-2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake until golden brown and no longer pink in the middle, about 20 minutes.

While your meatballs are cooking, lets work on the potato kale mixture. Wash the kale well, and remove the leafy part, discarding the hard stems.

Finely dice your shallot. It appears I forgot to take a picture, SORRY!!

Heat your olive oil over medium heat in a non stick skillet.

Add in your kale and allow to wilt for about 5 minutes.

Add in the shallot, black pepper, salt, dijon mustard, and potatoes.

Stir everything together. Spread evenly into the pan and allow to cook for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes begin to brown. Be sure to stir the mixture every few minutes to ensure even cooking.

Serve your baked turkey meatballs over the Kale & Potato mixture and top with your tomato sauce.

Thanks Y'all!
-Wise Wife 

Sriracha Meatballs with Quinoa Salad

I have been wanting to make meatballs for about a week now but I just kept putting it off. I originally wanted to make ground buffalo meatballs but decided on ground turkey. (I will make the buffalo meatballs a little later). I have a love hate for relationship with spicy food. I love the way it taste but have to take it in small increments. If you have never had sriracha, it is the hot sauce that usually accompanies Asian style dishes. A little helpful hint, if you are cooking with spicy foods, you can cut the spiciness by adding in a touch of sugar (which is exactly what I did in this recipe). My husband gave me LOTS of compliments on this meal so we will definitely be making it again!

So you want to make some meatballs? Lets get to it!

Sriracha Turkey Meatballs w/ Quinoa Salad

Printable recipe here

Ingredients:

 1 1/2 pound lean ground turkey

1 T corn starch

1 1/2 t plus 1 T sriracha sauce, divided 

1/2 bell pepper (I like orange the best but you can use any color)

1 white onion, divided

salt and pepper to taste

2 T cilantro, divided

1 can black beans

1 cup quinoa (I used Inca but you could use regular) 

1 T lemon juice

1 t sugar

5 T olive oil, divided

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Go ahead and chop your veggies.  Chop 1/2 of your white onion.

Place the other half in a food processor or blender to finely chop. You can do this by hand but it will take a while!

  If you don't have a mini food processor it is a kitchen must have!! You will thank me later. 

Chop your bell pepper.

Roughly chop your cilantro. 

Add your ground turkey, corn starch, processed onion, 1/2 of the cilantro, salt and pepper, and 1 1/2 t sriracha sauce,  (can add more for spicier meatball), into a medium bowl.

Stir together to completely combine. The easiest way is to get in there with your hands.

Using your hands, form small meatballs. This recipe should make about 24 meatballs depending on how large you make them.

The easiest way to cook these meatballs is in a mini cupcake pan. So, as you make your meatballs, place into the cupcake pan.

You could also use a regular sized cupcake pan, just make the meatballs larger.

Bake the meatballs for 25 minutes.

Add 1 T sriracha, sugar, lemon juice, and 4 T olive oil together in a small bowl. 

Whisk until combined and set aside.

While your meatballs are baking, get your quinoa together. Combine 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer until the water is absorbed.

While your quinoa is cooking, add 1 T olive oil to into a medium skillet and heat over medium low heat. Add in your diced onion and bell pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent and bell peppers are soft.

Drain and rinse the black beans. It is important to rinse because canned beans can have lots of hidden sodium. 

Add your black beans and your remaining cilantro into the hot skillet. 

Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

Once your quinoa is cooked, add into the vegetable mix.

Stir to combine. 

Pour your sriracha sauce that you made early over the quinoa mixture and stir to combine. Reserve some sauce to pour over each dish. 

Remove your meatballs from the oven. A serve on top of your quinoa mixture.

Enjoy! Thanks Y'all!

-Wise Wife 

Gluten Free Friday!

I often say my husband should have been born Italian. He LOVES Italy and Italian food. I do as well, but lets just face it, it's just not as much fun to eat pizza that is dairy free and gluten free. To get my Italian fix, I like to make a healthy version of spaghetti and meatballs that my husband doesn't even realize is gluten free. The great thing about pasta is that I can make it dairy free and the Hubs can just add cheese onto his portion. So here it is, my turkey dairy free, gluten free spaghetti and meatballs!

Good for you Turkey Spaghetti and Meatballs 

Lets start with the meatballs so you can cook your sauce while they are cooking. 

Meatball Ingredients:

1/2 sweet onion

1 clove garlic

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg

2 T water

1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs

1/2 t pepper

 t salt

Preheat oven to 350°

Chop your onion and garlic.

In a a large bowl combine the chopped onion, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, egg, and water. 

Breaking off the ground turkey into small pieces, add into the bread crumb mixture. 

Ladies, don't forget to remove your rings before this step!!

Using your hands, yes your HANDS, mush together to combine completely. 

Form the meat mixture into 1" meatballs.  

helpful hint: to keep the meatballs uniform, I use a melon baller to scoop the amount of meat. You could also use a small ice cream scoop.

Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.

 Bake for 25-30 minutes or until no longer pink. 

helpful hint: You can make these ahead of time and freeze them for future use.

Sauce Ingredients:

1 T extra virgin olive oil

4 medium tomatoes

1/2 sweet onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 T lemon juice

1 t salt

1/4 c oregano

1 t crushed red pepper (can adjust for desired spice level) 

black pepper to taste 

helpful hint: You can always make the sauce ahead of time and simply reheat in sauce pan when you're ready to use it. Also, it is always an option to use store bought tomato sauce but ALWAYS read ingredients to check for allergies.

You know me. I like to chop my veggies in the beginning. So get to chopping the tomatoes, onion, and garlic. The great thing about this recipe, I throw it in the food processor at the end, so the vegetables can be roughly chopped!

Heat your olive oil over medium heat. Add in your tomatoes, onion, and garlic.

Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes start to break down slightly.

Add mixture into food processor or blender. 

Add the lemon juice, salt, oregano, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.

Blend until desired smoothness.

If using a regular blender, you may need to pour mixture back into the sauté pan to reheat.

Serve with your favorite gluten free spaghetti pasta. I love quinoa pasta!

Thanks Y'all!

-Wise Wife