Baked Turkey Meatballs

I never used to be a meatball kinda person, but these have changed my mind. They take a little bit of work to prep but they are sooo worth it in the end. They taste FANTASTIC and are a great way to spice up the boring old spaghetti routine. JoyTheBaker never lets me down! For a gluten free version, I'm thinking about substituting rice or quinoa for the bread chunks.  (Adapted from here)

Ingredients

• 3 slices italian or whole wheat bread, torn into medium chunks (substitute 2 cups cooked rice or quinoa for a gluten free version)
• 1/3 cups milk (any % works, I've even used lactose free)
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 - 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley (I used dried)
• 3 to 4 cups tomato-based pasta sauce (I like Prego best)

Directions

• Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, pour the milk over the bread crumbs.  Allow to soak for 5 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the onions and cook until softened and browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Place the ground turkey in a large bowl.  Squeeze any excess milk from the bread.  Add the bread to the turkey and discard the milk.  Add the cooked onions and garlic.  Add the eggs, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, cheese, tomato paste, and parsley.  Use a wooden spoon to work all of the ingredients together.  You may need to get in there with your hands to thoroughly and evenly combine all of the ingredients.
• In two 9×13-inch pans, spread about 2 cup of sauce (1 cup in each pan).  Shape together 24 meatballs.  Each meatball will be about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture.  Use your hands to best shape the meatballs.  Rinse your hands in warm water every few meatballs to keep your hands from getting too sticky.  I found that having slightly damp hands helps tremendously in shaping the balls. Top each meatball with a small spoonful of sauce.
• Bake meatballs for 25 minutes, or until bubbling and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and serve with pasta, or just with sauce and a hearty green salad.  Meatballs will last up to 4 days well wrapped in the refrigerator. 

Test Kitchen - Maple Dijon Chicken

This is a recipe I've made multiple times and love. Its so easy and always tastes great! Plus I love dishes that I can throw in the oven and forget about, leaving my hands free to make sides dishes. I come from one of those families that only ate chicken breasts, so I substitute breasts for the thighs. I've also tried it with turkey breasts and it was just as tasty. The clean up on this one is a little difficult since the marinade really sticks to the baking dish, but I promise its worth it. I think this recipe is also slightly better when you marinate the meat overnight, but I've made it plenty of times without it and it still delicious. Note: It does have a very strong mustard taste from all the dijon, so if that's not your thing this recipe probably isn't for you.

Maple Dijon Chicken
(I first found this recipe here)

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts-1-1.5 pounds
• Dijon mustard- 1/2 cup
• Maple syrup- 1/4 cup
• Rice/rice wine vinegar- 1 tablespoon
• Fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Mix together dijon mustard, maple syrup and rice wine vinegar.  
• Salt and Pepper meat, then cover with marinade mixture and let sit for anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours in the fridge.
• When ready, preheat oven to 450 F. 
• Place meat in an ovenproof baking dish. Make sure meat is completely coated in sauce on all sides before placing in the oven.
• Cook meat for 35-45 minutes depending on the size of your thighs/breasts, or until a meat thermometer reads 165. I recommended basting the meat with more sauce halfway through.
• Optional: I like to broil the meat for the last 5-7 minutes to get that extra nice golden brown exterior, but this will make the pan harder to clean up later. 
• Let sit for 5 minutes after removing from oven and sprinkle with fresh rosemary for garnish. 

 

Test Kitchen - Turkey Spinach Sliders

Its official: I'm going gluten free. After reading a lot about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, reading through different testimonies on various gluten free/celiacs blogs (like this, this and this one), and getting put on a low FODMAP diet by my GI Specialist, I think its finally time I give it a try. I've always been skeptical of people who claim to have a gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity, and if you'd asked me two months ago I would have said there's no way in hell I'm gluten intolerant/sensitive! I mean, I loooove carbs! Like more than life itself. I could have lived exclusively on bread, pasta, and pizza and been happy as a clam! Forever.

But now....I dunno. After being in pain for more than 2 months with no relief no matter what I cut out of my diet (all except for gluten that is), it doesn't sound that crazy. The symptoms surprisingly fit (although with 300+ different symptoms, it'd be hard for them not to) and so many of these testimonials I've read were from people who were also skeptical before giving it a try, but swear it relieved their symptoms within weeks.  So I think I'm willing to really give this FODMAP (and no gluten) thing a try. And why not? Even if I don't have celiac disease and gluten isn't the culprit, a lot of new research now shows that many of those who feel better on a gluten-free diet are most likely sensitive to a specific kind of carbohydrate in the wheat (fructans)— not the gluten protein itself. Hence, the reason my doctor put me on this FODMAP diet. And is it really that strange that my body could have developed a difficulty digesting these fructans that it didn't have before? People can suddenly develop allergies at any age, and it sounds like a lot of people who have very similar stories to mine also started experiencing their first symptoms of gluten intolerance in their late teens/early twenties. Unlike me though, they didn''t find relief for their symptoms until their late 30s or 40s! I don't want to be miserable for that long! I can't imagine feeling this way for that long. Ugh. Some of these people even had unnecessary procedures like hysterectomies or gallbladder removals that were completely necessary! I don't want to go through that!

So here it goes. No more gluten for me. I imagine this will be harder than I think, but I'm willing to put in the effort if it'll relieve my symptoms.  And whats the worst that can happen? I don't eat carbs for a week and I die from the torture of it? Somehow I think I'll survive :) Unfortunately for my test kitchen, I won't be able to make a lot of the recipes I'd planned on testing but I'll make it work somehow. I can either add in the extra challenge of making them gluten free or else hunting down some fun, gluten free recipes to try.

In the meantime, here are the Turkey Spinach Sliders from Bon Appetit magazine I made for dinner tonight. Sans the bun for me of course. They weren't anything to write home about, but they were quick and easy and I will probably be making them again. Hiding spinach in a hamburger is always a good thing. I am not a fan of cumin so I omitted it from this recipe, and I like cheese on my burgers so I threw on some swiss cheese.


Turkey Spinach Sliders
(Original Recipe here)

Ingredients

• 1/2 bunch flat-leaf spinach, thick stems removed, leaves chopped (about 4 cups)
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 to 1 pound ground turkey (depending on how many/how big your patties are)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 slider buns or small dinner rolls, split, lightly toasted (for serving)
• Mayonnaise, sliced red onion, pickle slices, and swiss or cheddar cheese (for serving) 

 Directions 

• Combine spinach, scallions, garlic, turkey, and cumin in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix gently just to combine. Form turkey mixture into 1/2-inch-thick patties.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook patties until golden brown and cooked through (resist the temptation to press down on patties with your spatula while cooking), about 5 minutes per side. About 1 minute to completion, add cheese to burger and cover with lid, letting the steam melt the cheese. Transfer to a plate when done.
• Serve turkey-spinach patties on buns with mayonnaise, onion, and pickles.
• DO AHEAD: Patties can be formed 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before cooking.