Baked Turkey Meatballs with Spinach

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 16 oz. frozen chopped spinach (defrosted, drained, and squeezed to remove excess water)
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray. (May also line baking sheet with foil and then spray with cooking spray.)

In a frying pan on medium heat, heat olive oil until hot. Then add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Saute until onion is tender (about 5-6 minutes total time).

Add spinach to pan and combine with onion mixture. Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth and mix well to combine. Cook until most of the liquid has cooked out (evaporated). Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, and egg. Add cooled onion/spinach mixture to the meat with hands or large spoon.

With your hands, create meatballs that are about 1- 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place them on the baking sheet. Leave a little bit of space between each meatball. When you are done shaping your meat balls, you will probably have about 40-42 meatballs. Don't need that many? Freeze them after baking or cut the recipe in half.

Bake until your meatballs are cooked through with an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve as desired.