Tasty Turkey Meatballs

So besides trying to find recipes that don’t include onion, tomato, peppers, cream, bacon, (and pretty much everything that makes a recipe tasty!), I also have to find things that a 1 year old will find fun to eat.  You’d think that the problem would be to get him to eat his vegetables, but no… our son LOVES his veggies!  We actually have to hide the veggies from him until he’s eaten some meat or cheese otherwise he’ll fill up on the vegetables and not even touch the other stuff.

He especially isn’t into meat… (maybe he was born a vegetarian?)…  I think it’s the texture that turns him off more than anything because if the meat is soft enough or mixed in with other stuff he’ll eat it up.  So, I’ve been trying out different types of meats in various recipes and found one that has become a family favorite:

Turkey Meatballs Recipe – Every Day with Rachael Ray

Of course I’ve made a few modifications to suit our family…  Here’s a photo from dinner this evening:

Tasty Turkey Meatballs
Serves 4, Points Plus = 8 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup bread crumbs (plain or italian seasoned)

1 large egg

1 tsp dried parsley (I used to always use fresh, but have found that the dried kind is much faster and cheaper!)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (I always buy the kind that comes in the pouch, not in the can… it just tastes so much better to me!)

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/4 pound ground turkey (that’s usually the weight of the standard pre-packaged ground turkey)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (click here for a brand comparison chart)

1 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. Mix together the turkey, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, egg, parsley, parmesan and salt and pepper until well combined.  Roll the mixture into about 20 meatballs.
2. Put the leftover 1/4 cup bread crumbs in a shallow dish and roll the meatballs in it to coat.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the meatballs and cook until browned, turning to brown all sides (about 8 minutes).
4. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Let this cook down for several minutes and then add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth, cooking until the liquid is absorbed and the meatballs are cooked through (about 15 minutes).

I usually serve this with a baked potato or sweet potato (which I do in the microwave) and a side of veggie (the steam-in-the-bag variety!).

So what foods do your kids avoid?  Have you found ways to sneak it in without them noticing?