Tasty Thursday: Clean Eating Danish Meatballs

TASTY THURSDAY

(recipe from the Gracious Pantry)

 

Clean Eating Danish Meatballs

(Makes 40 meatballs)

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 package ground turkey meat (about 1 1/2 lbs, give or take.)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried onion
• 1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 whole egg

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• 1 teaspoon salt (omit if you use prepared stock or broth)
• 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. If you want to have a grain with this dish, put on a pot of brown rice or some whole wheat noodles while you make this recipe.
3. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Place all the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with your hands until well blended.
5. Roll the meat blend into small (about 1 inch in diameter) balls and place on your cookie sheets. You can place them somewhat close together. They don’t spread during baking. Just be sure there is some room between them so the heat can circulate well around them. On a standard cookie sheet, I got about 20.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until they reach at least 170 degrees F. I baked mine a little longer just to get a nice golden “glow” to them.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. (Enough so you don’t burn yourself!)
8. Once the meatballs are in the oven, move on to making the sauce. Both should finish about the same time.
9. While the meatballs are in the oven, place your olive oil and flour in a medium-sized pot.
10. Warm this mixture over medium-high heat. It will be “paste-like” at first. But then it’ll get a little “crumbly”.
11. Once you have crumbs, slowly add your chicken stock/broth stirring vigorously with a whisk. The idea is to get the crumbs to dissolve into the broth. Once dissolved, add your salt (optional), dill and garlic. Allow the mixture to simmer slightly until it has thickened a bit.
12. Once the sauce has thickened, remove the pot from the stove. Whisk in your yogurt, and the sauce is done!
13. Combine the sauce and meatballs and you’ve got a fantastic meal!