Ground Turkey Meatballs with Chayote and Kale
My clean eating followers, you know what it means to eat healthy meals. You start with simple ingredients, and you create delicious meals for the entire family to enjoy.
When you mix different types of vegetables, you are getting all the health benefits in one sitting. And you are also becoming a better food explorer.
Chayote Squash is an all-year-round vegetable and is sometimes referred to as fruit. Its flavor is unique and is very easy to cook. The Chayote will embrace whatever flavor you introduce to the dish.
By adding kale, a slight bitterness, the sweetness of the peppers, the smoothness of the tomato sauce, the right blend of herbs and spices, this dish is perfect for dinner. And let’s time forget the ground turkey, a lighter alternative to beef meatballs, seasoned with homemade ground seasoning, paprika, shallots, and cumin.
To prepare this dish, the ground turkey needs time to marinate and blend with the spices. Using your hands to mix ground meat with seasoning is the perfect way to get flavorful meatballs.
The meatballs are baked in the oven at 400° F until golden brown for about 20 – 25 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. You can either add them to your cooked vegetables for serving them on the side.
The vegetables are slowly cooked in their juices with herbs and spices. The meatballs are added at the end to complete the dish. Such a balanced meal! Don’t you think so?
So, my friend, we are ending the week with lean meat and veggies. Have fun making my Ground Turkey Meatballs with Chayote and Kale recipe. Yum!
Ground Turkey Meatballs with Chayote and Kale
Ingredients
For the Ground Turkey
- 1 pound ground turkey 97% lean 7% fat
- 2 tablespoons of green seasoning + 1 tablespoon
- 1/2 cup shallots chopped thinly
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt (himalayan salt optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 egg
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
For the vegetables
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 8 juicy tomatoes campari or grapevine tomatoes about 2 cups
- 6 - 8 mini peppers sliced thinly or about 1 cup
- 2 cups kale shredded, stem removed
- 3 chayote sliced thinly
- 1 - 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- ¼ crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Place ground turkey in a bowl and add green seasoning, shallots, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands, form a ball, cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- Remove from refrigerator and bring to room temperature
- Prepare baking pan by spraying with oil spray.
- When ground turkey is not too cold to handle add beaten egg, breadcrumbs, tomato paste.
- Mix well with your hands and roll into about 15 - 20 meatballs and place on prepared pan.
- Bake at 400° F until golden brown for about 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked through. Make sure the inside of the meatballs are not pink. Set aside
- Prepare vegetables.
- In a heavy bottom pan, under medium heat, add oil, garlic, tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon of green seasoning and let cook for about 4 - 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Crushed the tomatoes with the back of a large spoon or spatula. Add kale and stir. Add the chayote, sweet peppers, remaining cumin powder, salt and pepper to taste. Mix all vegetables and spices together.
- Cover and lower heat. Let the vegetables cook for about 10 minutes - do not add any water yet, the vegetables will release their own water/juice.
- Stir to mix vegetables to allow them to cook evenly. Add about ¼ cup of water if needed, season to taste. Continue cooking for another 20 minutes on low heat.
- Add meatballs, gently stir and cook for another 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with rice.
Notes
Use a mixture of herbs and spices to replace the green seasoning.
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
