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OMG!  Have you ever walked into the kitchen determined to make something good and then you wow yourself? Well this was definitely my moment. All the pieces of this recipe I had worked with before, but for the most part, not in this way. Anyway, the finished product came out better than I had expected. I used some healthier ingredients since I was making pasta and the changes were spot on. It does take a little more time to get this one finished, probably about an hour total to cook with about 15-20 minutes of prep work, but I guarantee you that it is worth it.

Side Note on the Pasta: You can use whatever type of pasta your hungry heart desires! I have fallen in love with Barilla Veggie Pasta! The Rotini noodles are zucchini and spinach and soooooo good. They work well with pretty much everything, especially this meal!

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Ingredients:

Meatballs

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 1/2 cup egg whites

1/4 cup Ketchup [organic if you have it]

Mrs. Dash Italian Medley

Coarse Sea Salt

2 cups bread crumbs [one with low sodium is preferable. I’ll post my recipe for bread crumbs this week]

Meat Thermometer

 

Cream Sauce

3 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups sliced mushrooms

Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb

1 cup wheat flour [broken into 1/4 cup increments] (We use wheat or almond flour. If you have regular flour that’s fine too!)

2 cups milk [I use soy milk but you can use whatever you drink]

 

Noodles

Barilla Veggie Pasta

3 cups broccoli, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil [optional – See Step 7]

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

Shredded cheese [optional – I use Weight Watcher’s cheese…can I hear it for 2 points! Yay!]

 

 

Instructions:

1. Start with the meatballs since that takes the longest. Set your oven to 400 degrees.Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam.

2. Take a large mixing bowl and combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix well. 

3. Once the meat mixture has been mixed thoroughly, begin forming medium-sized meatballs with your hands. They should fit the pit of your palm. Place the meatballs onto the pan. When finished place in the oven on the middle rack and set your timer for 30 minutes.

4. Now for cream sauce! Pour in chicken stock into a large pot and set on MEDIUM-HIGH. Let the stock get to a rolling boil.

5. At the same time put your butter into a skillet and turn on medium until it melts. Then add the mushrooms and lightly sautee. Set aside for the moment.

6.Pour about 1/4 cup of your flour into the large pot of chicken stock and whisk. This is just to help thicken it up a bit. Let it keep boiling.

7. If your broccoli is frozen you will want to sautee them quickly before the next couple steps. I prefer to sautee them with a dash of olive oil and no seasonings. If your broccoli is fresh, then you use your own discretion.

8. Pour another 1/4 cup of flour into the chicken stock and whisk.

9. At this point your meatballs should be near done with its first round. Take them out and flip them over. Be sure to check the temperature of the meatballs before putting them back in. At the halfway point they’re normally in the 130-150 degree range. They need to be at 170 degrees to be safe to eat. Place the meatballs back in and set your timer for 25 minutes.

10. Now pour the remaining 1/2 cup flour into the chicken stock pot. Also add the milk and Mrs. Dash. Whisk until you cannot see any flour.

11. Begin boiling your noodles in a pot of water. If you want leftovers, I suggest making the whole box of pasta. I’m only feeding 2 people and we had enough for about 8-10 servings because of our portion sizes. Mind you, my husband’s portion sizes are about 1/3-1/2 larger than mine so make what you think you’ll eat.

12. Add the mushrooms into the chicken stock pot and cover and just let simmer on LOW.

13. When the noodles have cooked strain them using cold water. The cold water helps them keep their form and not break when added to other mixtures.

14. Combine the noodles and broccoli into the large pot of chicken stock cream sauce. Turn the eye OFF for now and cover.

15. When the meatballs are finished and you’ve checked that they are at 170 degrees take them out of the oven and place into the noodles mixture. Turn the eye back on LOW. Add the chopped spinach and stir gently. Let the flavors mix together for about 5 minutes.

16. When you’re ready to serve, spoon a nice helping into your bowl and sprinkle with some shredded cheese! Bon Appetit!

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