Spinach Artichoke Meatballs

I bought meat.  I know!  I know I know.  I'm supposed to be using the meat in the freezer.  BUT I wanted meatballs.  Just, for some reason, had a craving for them.  I don't know why.  I mean, do any of us really KNOW why we crave what we do?  I know I don't.  I just crave, then eat.  Isn't that how it's supposed to work?

When I lived in Rochester, there was the Spaghetti Warehouse downtown.  Man, they had THE BEST meatballs!  Actually, it was meatball.  Just one GIANT one on your plate.  I mean, it was almost the size of the plate...giant.  And OMG was it fab-ulous!  But that's not this recipe.  LOL

I honestly don't know why I thought of these.  I just did.  I guess with the sun-dried tomato ones I made not too long ago, these just seemed like a logical second recipe?  Maybe?

I wanted to use ground turkey and it has a tendency to by dry, so I wanted to make sure they had nice, moist vegetables to blend in with them.  I could have done the traditional carrots, onions, maybe celery, garlic, peppers?  Nah, I thought spinach.  Then well, spinach goes with artichokes.  So, Spinach Artichoke Meatballs!

Granted this really does deserve like an Alfredo sauce to go with them.  I was just being lazy.  However, the tomato basil sauce that I paired with the meatballs didn't overpower the delicate flavor too much.  I could still taste the chokes and nach.

I don't know about you, but just simply draining spinach isn't enough for me.  There's still too much moisture left.  I have a few old linen tea towels that I use to squeeze the spinach drier.

So here's the thawed spinach in the old tea towel.  See, it has a rip in it already, so I'm not too afraid of losing it should I say, bust it draining the spinach or have it died with the spinach booth.  Yes, both have happened to me.  Yes.  I have squeezed the towel so tight trying to get out all the juices that I busted the towel.  *snort*

This time, I measured the juice.

Yes, folks.  That's almost 3/4 cup of liquid AFTER draining in a strainer.  So, it does pay to squeeze your spinach after you drain it to get more moisture out.  It can make or break a dish.  Now, I saved this spinach-y goodness and added it to my water for the pasta.

It's one giant spinach ball!  *snort*

I took this and chopped it some more before mixing it with the artichokes, ground turkey (93/7) and three cheese blend.  Preheat oven to 350.

Mix these ingredients together well, but not too much. You don't want to ground turkey to become too tough or pasty.

Then roll out approximately 30 meatballs about 1 inch in diameter.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Turn and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through.

At this point, we took a pan and heated the sauce on medium heat.  We added the meatballs and allowed them to simmer about 15 minutes before serving with the pasta.

They were really yummy, but could have used salt.  This is the Ragu Tomato Basil Light sauce.  It's my go to for regular marinara type sauces.  it's very low in fat and has a decent amount of veggies in it.

Spinach Artichoke Meatballs

Recipe by A Kitchen Hoor (@flowerfroggirl)

Yield: 5
Ingredients

• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/2 c marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 2/3 c Italian three cheese blend (Romano, Parmesan, Asiago)
• 20.8 oz ground turkey (93/7)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t kosher salt

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Roll into 1 inch meatballs and bake for 20 minutes. Flip the meatballs and cook an additional 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Serve immediately.

You have just read the article entitled Spinach Artichoke Meatballs. Please read the article from Rice Pot 89 About dairy , Italian , main dish , pasta , poultry , vegetables more. And you can also bookmark this page with the URL : https://ricepot89.blogspot.com/2013/04/spinach-artichoke-meatballs.html