Asian Turkey Meatballs

I tend to love asian flavors so when I had some thawed lean ground turkey in the fridge the other day, I decided to try some asian turkey meatballs. Everything I added was already in stock, a definite plus!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground turkey (I used 93% lean)
• 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 scallions sliced
• 1 Tbsp orange ginger marinade
• 1 1/2 in piece fresh diced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• salt
• Pepper
• 2 Tbsp cilantro paste (I love using these, they last a long time!)
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh mint
• 1 egg, whipped
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 sweet pototoes sliced
• 2 1/2 cups fresh snap peas
• 8-10 mini bell peppers

Start by preheating your oven to 400. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, stir to combine. Cover and put back into the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Slice cross-wise mini bell peppers. I used orange, red and yellow. Costco sells a bag of these for less than $4! Season with salt & pepper. Wash your sweet potatoes and cut off ends. Then make rounds out of the rest. Spritz potato rings with olive oil, and then sprinkle with paprika. I put the sweet potatoes in first since they have a longer cooking time.

Once the peppers are ready, pull the meatball mixture out. Spray a tray covered roasting pan with cooking spray first. I used a cookie dough scoop to make even sized meatballs and place on top of tray. Place into the oven to start cooking. (Mine were smaller and nearly cooked in about 15 minutes).

Spray a roasting pan with cooking spray. Use your olive oil mister to spritz the peppers and I added fresh snap peas as well. (I used garlic infused olive oil) Place into preheated 400 degree oven and cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables start to brown and soften. 

Make sure you use a thermometer to check the doneness of the meatballs. Wait until they reach at least 160 degrees and then remove. While the vegetables finish cooking, get your plates ready. I combined arugula and spinach, seasoned with salt and pepper and a homemade vinaigrette made from 2 tsp olive oil and rice vinegar, salt and pepper. Once everything is ready, top your greens with veggies and then 1/4 the total meatballs to make one serving. Arrange the sweet potato rings around the edge. Add more vinaigrette if you like or fresh cracked pepper.

I could really taste the fresh mint in these and my husband even identified the cilantro! We served this with a slice of pumperknickel bread. YUM! Check out this dinner - full of beta carotene! Next year school lunches are going to have red/orange vegetable requirements, you should too!