Turkey Balls & Pepper Sauce - Baby Friendly

Since starting this blog and actually seeing what I've been cooking each day, I've decided to make healthier dishes because, well, bacon with every meal is NOT a good thing. When I do make one of these meals, they will be from the book First Meals (New Expanded Edition) (Hardcover) by Annabel Karmel. This way I can feed my baby girl great and healthy meals without feeling guilty. When she was a little baby, we used recipes from Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby by Annabel Karmel as well. I credit the purees from this book for helping my little girl develop good eating habits at a very young age. She loves broccoli! I hope you can enjoy these as well!

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Ground turkey is becoming increasingly popular these days, because it is usually less fatty than most ground beef that you buy.  Because of the lack of fat in the turkey, it can tend to get dried out while cooking.  This recipe keeps the turkey nice and moist as well as flavorful!

Turkey Balls & Pepper Sauce

Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 small apple, peeled and grated
3 tbsp fresh bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage or thyme
salt and black pepper
flour for coating
2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying

Red Pepper Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp tomato paste
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 3/4 cups vegetable stock
salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• To make the red pepper sauce, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the shallots and red peppers, and saute until softened.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and season to taste.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Blend until smooth.
• Mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs, seasoning to taste.  Use your hands to form the mixture into about 24 walnut sized balls.  Spread the flour on a plate and use it to coat the meatballs.  Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the balls, and saute, turning until they are golden all over.
• Transfer the meatballs to a casserole, cover with pepper sauce, and cook in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and well browned