Baked Turkey & Spinach Meatballs!!

Baked Turkey & Spinach Meatballs!

Wow it has been almost a year since I have posted! That seems pretty crazy to me, but I am going to try posting more often on here. I have been cooking a lot more than I use to, so hopefully that means more recipes to share!! :) These meatballs are pretty great and super easy to make!  As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make them! They sounded great and they looked amazing!
I found the recipe HERE originally and I'm glad I did!!  My dad is a VERY picky eater and he doesn't even like meatballs, but he loved these! He literally said he LOVED them. That's pretty abnormal, especially for him.  Lets just say I was in total and complete shock!! I even took my aunt, grandma and 2 younger cousins some and all of them really liked them too!  We have a hard time getting my youngest cousin to eat normal food, so when he ate over half his sub we were all in shock.  If that doesn't say something about these meatballs, then nothing will.  TWO picky eaters like these?  WIN!!!!!  I will definitely be making more of these!  I had leftover meatballs and stuck them in the freezer so you have them on hand when you need them!  The left overs will be going on top of some spaghetti with Garlic and Onion pasta sauce in the near future.  ;)  I suppose I could stop babbling and just give you the recipe already, so here it is!!!

My family grabbed them before I got a picture of them all!

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced (I used the kind out of a jar since I didn't have fresh)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

16 oz frozen spinach (thawed, drained and squeezed to remove excess water)

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup chicken broth (I used fat free)

2 1/2 lbs. lean ground turkey

3/4 cup bread crumbs

2 large eggs

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.  (I lined my baking sheet with aluminum foil and then sprayed with the cooking spray.)

2) In a frying pan over medium heat, heat olive oil until hot.  Then add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes.  Saute until onion is tender (about 5-6 minutes).  

3) Add spinach to 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.  (There wasn't much liquid in my pan after I put it in there, but it depends on how well you drain the spinach).  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.  

4) In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread crumbs and egg.  Add cooled onion/spinach mixture to the meat. (I just used my hands for this, but you can also use a spoon if you want).  

5) With your hands, roll out meatballs that are about 1 - 1 1/2 in. in diameter and place them on the baking sheet.  Leave a little space between each meatball.  When you are done forming your meatballs, you will probably have 40-42 (or in my case about 80 because I made them smaller) meatballs from this recipe.  (If you don't need that many you can always cut the recipe in half or freeze the leftover meatballs after you cook and cool them).  

6) Bake until your meatballs are cooked through with internal temperature of 160 degrees F. About 20-30 minutes in my oven.  Remove from oven and serve as desired.  

For Subs:

For the subs I made, I got some hoagie buns from the bread section of my grocery store.  You don't want to get rolls that are cut all the way through. You can get the buns that are pre-cut (not all the way) or you can use rolls that you cut yourself (I cut my own rolls).  Use your favorite kind of spaghetti sauce and warm them over medium-low heat until heated through.  Then you just need to place your meatballs in your rolls, spoon a little sauce over them and put mozzarella cheese (or whichever you prefer) and bake them on 400 degrees F. until the cheese is melted.  Serve and enjoy!!  I hope you love them as much as my family does!! :)