Despite the fact that the last 4 recipes I have posted have all been desserts, we are actually eating real food too! In fact we’ve had quite a few good meals lately. Unfortunately for the blog we’ve been eating when it’s already dark and my attempts at photographing food with an external flash have come up a little short lately. The good news is that one of our delicious dinners made for pretty delicious lunch leftovers, and I finally was able to get a decent photo. The sun is starting to stay out a little later so hopefully this won’t be an issue for too much longer!
These are flavorful and good-for-you meatballs. On the first night, I served them with roasted potatoes and asparagus (probably not Greek…). For lunch, I laid them on a bed of lettuce, onions, bell pepper, and tomatoes, and served them with (homemade!) pita bread. It was delicious both ways. I actually loved the way the roasted potatoes and asparagus tasted when dipped in the tzatziki sauce. But I also really loved the way the pita bread tasted with the tzatziki sauce. Win win situation if you ask me!
Note: I found the turkey meatball recipe over on Skinny Taste and she also had a tzatziki sauce recipe, but I’m a huge fan of Elly’s recipe so I stuck with that. Below both recipes are listed as I made them.
Greek Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
1 cup grated zucchini, liquid squeezed out*
2 slices whole wheat bread
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly stirred with a fork
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
1/4 red onion, grated
1 tbsp dry oregano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
kosher salt and fresh pepper
Nonstick cooking spray or olive oil for cooking
1 batch Tzatziki sauce (recipe below)
*I measured a loose cup of zucchini then squeezed out the excess liquid using a clean kitchen towel.
Directions
Tear slices of wheat of bread into small pieces and place in the bottom of a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment). Add the ground turkey, grated zucchini, seasoned breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, grated onion, oregano, parsley, s&p, and olive oil. Mix well with (clean) hands (or turn mixer on low and stir until combined).
Roll meatballs into desired size (anywhere from cookie scoop size or 1/4 cup size).
Spray a nonstick cooking pan with non stick spray. Add the meatballs to the pan and cook over medium heat for about 7-8 minutes, flipping after about 4 minutes (may take a little more or less time depending on size of meatballs). Alternatively, you could cook them on a George Foreman, panini press, or Cuisinart 5-in-1 griddler. Just keep an eye on them so as not to over or under cook!
Source: Skinny Taste
Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
1-32 oz. container of 2% Greek yogurt
1 large or 2 medium cucumbers
3-5 cloves garlic–depending how garlicky you like it, crushed or pressed
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and a little pepper
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Pour off any excess liquid from yogurt. Peel and seed cucumber then grate with a cheese grater. Using a clean kitchen towel, squeeze out the liquid from the cucumber. When you think you got it all out, squeeze it some more!
Sitr together the Greek yogurt, grated cucumber, crushed garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil when you’re ready to serve.
Source: Elly Says Opa
MMMM, I love Elly’s tzatziki sauce, too. I made something similar to this last week, too. I couldn’t get enough of it. Gorgeous photos…and I’m loving our SoCal weather, we are so lucky it doesn’t ever SNOW here!!!
Um – this looks FABULOUS!!
These look so great. It’s that time of year for lighter, healthier recipes!
Beautiful pictures and a yummy recipe