This recipe is easy and quick to put together. It is an “all in one pot” kind of dish that I can really appreciate. I will say that I wasn’t expecting the ground chicken with the ground turkey for the meatballs, so I did not have the chicken available. I made my meatballs with just ground turkey. But the meatballs themselves had good flavor and I felt that they would be easily frozen for future meals, so this recipe is good for the meatballs on their own.
Now, I will be honest…this was not one of my favorite dishes. I felt like the sauce was missing something. It was supposed to have that “Tuscan Italian” flair, but I just didn’t find it. It was missing some kind of spice, or vegetable…some flavor was missing for my palette, and I am still trying to figure that out. The Hubs thought it was delicious and ate the leftovers for lunch the next day!! Maybe it was the sun-dried tomatoes I purchased. Sometimes they seem to lack flavor for me… At any rate, it will be a recipe that I will try again. Especially the turkey meatballs! If you try it, let me know! Happy cooking!
INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 lb (220g) ground turkey meat
• 1/2 lb (220g) ground chicken meat
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (or cheddar, provolone…)
• 4 cloves garlic, grated + 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon red crushed chili pepper flakes, optional
• 1 crumbled bouillon cube, optional
• Salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro (or parsley), divided
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable broth
• 5 ounces (150g) jarred sun-dried tomato in oil, drained of oil
• 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS
- To make the creamy spinach turkey meatballs: In a large bowl, combine ground turkey and ground chicken, cheese, grated garlic, Italian seasoning, bouillon cube, red chili pepper flakes, chopped cilantro, and black pepper. Mix well with your hands or fork and form medium balls. Arrange the turkey meatballs on a plate and set them aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the turkey meatballs for 8 – 10 minutes on all sides until browned and cooked through. Remove to a clean plate and set aside.
- In the same pan, melt the butter in the remaining cooking juices. Add in the garlic and fry until fragrant (about one minute). Add onion and stir fry until translucent. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and fry for 1-2 minutes, so they release their flavors. Finally, pour in the vegetable broth, and allow the sauce to reduce slightly.
- Reduce heat to low, add in the heavy cream, and bring to a gentle simmer while stirring occasionally. Season the cream sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add in the baby spinach and allow to wilt in the sauce. Finally, add in the parmesan cheese. Allow cream sauce to simmer for a further minute until the cheese melts through.
- Add the cooked turkey meatballs back into the pan; sprinkle with the parsley and spoon the sauce over each meatball. Serve the creamy garlic spinach Tuscan meatballs over steamed veg or cauliflower rice for Keto dieters, or rice or pasta for non-Keto. Enjoy! ❤️
*this recipe is from eatwell101.com
**I served this over rotini pasta
