A few nights ago I had an EPIC Pinterest dinner fail.  I was really excited for Lentil Stew in the crockpot and was really, really disappointed with how it turned out.  It was more like a soup, had ZERO flavor and the lentils were not cooked.  Needless to say Darrin and I made a quick call to a local pizza place.

Unfortunately pizza wouldn’t do for Lucas.  I’ve been giving him what we have at dinner but I’m not comfortable with pizza just yet.  In that moment I was so glad I had made a batch of meatballs and frozen them two weeks ago!  A quick cook in the microwave (typically I’d have thrown them in a skillet but I was in a major time crunch) and L had a delicious dinner that he couldn’t get enough of.  Since L loves these meatballs so much he practically BEGGED me to share them with you. Alright, alright – begged may be a bit strong, but he wanted all of his baby friends to taste some of the yummy goodness he’s been eating recently.

Baby Turkey Meatballs with Veggies



Ingredients:

• 1lb ground turkey (or chicken)
• 1 carrot, grated
• Handful of spinach, shredded
• 1 egg (if you haven’t given your child egg yet you can substitute with a bit of milk or just leave the egg out totally)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Panko bread crumbs ( I just kinda of eyeballed it)
• 2 dashes of Worcestershire (I use reduced sodium)
• Spices to taste (I added garlic powder, onion powder and thyme – I also add a fair amount since I know L likes spices.  If you’re unsure try starting with 1/2 tsp of each)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grate your carrots and shred your spinach.

Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

Roll the mixture into about 36 mini meatballs and place on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil.

Bake for about 11 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 170 degree.

If freezing, allow to cool completely and then place back on a cookie sheet and freeze for several hours.  Store the meatballs in a freezer bag for up to two months.  When it’s time to sever just heat in a skillet over low heat until warm throughout.

Obviously we are big fans of this meal in our house.  I’m pretty sure L will be hoping for a few more Pinterest fails so he can nom-nom on some yummy mini meatballs again soon!