Meals for New Moms [Asian Turkey Meatballs]

August 6, 2012 · By ·
We were amazed by the meal giving generosity of our friends after Nell was born. Neighbors we’d only talked to a few times were dropping dinners off, and when Nell was one week old my sorority sisters descended on us with bottles of wine and freezer meals. And can I say? I’m pretty unimaginative when it comes to meals for new moms – I always want to steer clear of the traditional lasagna, but I don’t know what will freeze well if its not going to be eaten immediately, so I usually end up giving yet another traditional lasagna. But we didn’t receive one lasagna. I took notes so that I can step up my game.

Our neighbor brought us Asian Turkey Meatballs, and I didn’t even have to ask for the recipe because I recognized it from one I’d earmarked to try on Pinterest. It hales from my go-to recipe blog The Girl Who Ate Everything, and it was such an unexpected meal to receive post baby – an Asian flair, turkey instead of chicken or ground beef, relatively healthy for my postpartum calorie counting self, and pretty much a combination of my favorite flavors ever. I made it again for our family last night, and thought I’d share with you all. As far as freezable goes, this probably isn’t the best – you could definitely freeze the meatballs, but the sauce is a key part of the meal, so this is probably best for someone who’s going to eat it that night.

Asian Turkey Meatballs via The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:

[Meatballs]
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used regular breadcrumbs, recipe calls for Panko)
1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

[Lime Dipping Sauce]
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons lime juice (I used fresh)
2 Tablespoons Water
1 scallion, chopped


Preheat the oven to 500°F. Mix all meatball ingredients together. Form large meatballs and place on a greased baking sheet (after soaking and spending a good 10 minutes scrubbing up my greased baking sheet last night, I’d also recommend foil).  Place meatballs on baking sheet, bake at 500°F until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Place meatballs in serving dish over rice, spoon a few tablespoons of dipping sauce over top. Place remainder of dipping sauce on table for delicious, sodium filled dipping. Love every second of it.


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Filed Under: Cooking with Em ·

Comments

  1. Meredith says:
    August 7, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    Yum!

    PS- I am the same way with struggling about what to bring, what will freeze well, etc. But in retrospect, when people brought meals with Lizzy, we loved them all…even if they were things I wouldn’t normally have made or eaten! So maybe I’m over-thinking it.

  2. longbrakeliving says:
    August 8, 2012 at 12:35 am

    Those meatballs look awesome! Our Sunday School class is fantastic about bringing people meals after babies (and other situations as well; we’ve received meals two other times since C’s birth), and started using TakeThemAMeal.com shortly before he was born. This is an AWESOME site when lots of people are bringing meals frequently, mostly because it lets you see what other people have brought or are planning to bring, which I think really helps inspire and ensure variety. Also, I almost always ask a couple of days prior to bringing my meal if they want something to eat that night or something they can freeze or put in the fridge to eat later. Sometimes I even ask if there’s something particular they might like.

    Thinking about some of the meals we received when C was born, one of my favorite things was a bunch of cut fruit. I could grab some anytime, and my postpartum self felt great about munching on fruit. I think I might need to start making that part of my meal-taking routine.

  3. Kim @ NewlyWoodwards says:
    August 8, 2012 at 11:30 pm

    This sounds great. And unique. We actually didn’t get a single freezer meal when we brought him Henry. Although the in laws made sure we had plenty of take out. ;)

  4. Kristen Friend Holmes says:
    August 10, 2012 at 4:02 pm

    I’m currently on a turkey meatball kick so I’ll have to add these into the mix. I think my husband is getting sick of the same Italian turkey meatballs.

  5. Shannon says:
    August 16, 2012 at 1:24 am

    These look pretty tasty! I’ve made a few different versions of the Asian meatball but never this one with the lime dipping sauce.

    My friends and I have started kicking in 10 bucks each when someone has a baby and ordering frozen meals from one of those fancy ready-serve dinner places. We can usually get 5 or 6 meals sent over and every one I’ve had has been fantastic. Because there’s nothing I hate more than baked ziti. Like, nothing. All that gelatinous cheese stuck together, ugh. Give me a turkey meatball any day of the week!