I've been a bad, bad blogger...

So, over the past few days, life has definitely caught up with me and taken over. Between wonderful weddings and time spent with friends (and the preparations that go into traveling four hours one-way to reach said destinations), I completely ran out of time to pass along a recipe that an astonishing (to me) amount of people asked for after I Facebook-ed a picture of this dish! It's one of those recipes that helps you sneak in a ton of veggies in a low-fat-content meat and it still tastes amazing.

So, here it is: Turkey and Spinach Meatballs on Egg Noddles with Broth Gravy.

You're going to need:

1.5 lbs. ground turkey meat
3/4 cup stale bread crumbs
2 generous hand-fulls of fresh baby spinach, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 large rib celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. wheat flour (or regular)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
8 oz. uncooked egg noodles
sea salt and pepper to taste


How to make it happen:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the turkey meat,  bread crumbs, spinach, onion, celery, carrots, garlic and salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1 tsp. of each) and knead thoroughly to mix. Roll the mixture into balls and place them on a non-stick, greased baking sheet. (I make my meat balls about the size of a cupped palm; this recipe should make 12 meat balls.) Drizzle the meat balls with a small amount of olive oil, using about 2 tablespoons in total. This helps to get your meatballs crispy. Bake the meatballs for 25-30 minutes, until they begin to turn golden-brown on top.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the egg noodles according to package instructions about 12 minutes before your meatballs are finished.

Meanwhile, melt the unsalted butter in a large, high-sided skillet with 1 turn-of-the-pan of olive oil. Sprinkle in the wheat flour, stirring the mixture as it forms a roux. When the mixture is thick and bubbling, stir in the chicken or veggie stock and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir constantly until a slightly thick, light colored broth gravy is finished.

Drain the egg noodles and combine them with the gravy in a large bowl. Stir to coat the noodles. Serve with the meatballs and enjoy a meal that is full of good stuff in disguise!