“Mom, how about we make up our own cookie recipe for kids in the kitchen?”. That was Shae’s idea for this week’s post. I told her we needed a little more time to research existing cookie recipes to see what would work. Instead we made a family dinner that everyone loved, Pesto Turkey Meatball Sandwiches with Tomato Jam.
Who doesn’t love a meatball sandwich loaded with melted cheese and sweet and spicy tomato sauce for dipping? We do so it was a fantastic plan. We used ground turkey but any meat would work for this recipe.
I did the onion chopping because I wanted them fine but Shae worked the food processor, mixed the meat and formed them into meatballs. She wasn’t crazy about handling raw meat but she was a trooper. She even mention how much work was involved in making homemade meatballs. This is exactly why I don’t make them.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 1/3 lb ground turkey (or any other ground meat)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 6 button mushrooms, stems removed, finely chopped
- 2 tbls prepared pesto
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Tomato Jam
- 2 lbs cherry tomatoes, washed
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 2 tbls olive oil
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Directions
In a large saucepan over medium heat add all of the tomato jam ingredients and simmer till mixture is reduced to a thick sauce, approx 45-60 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl gently fold all of the meatball ingredients until combined.
Gently form the meat into the size you prefer, do not squeeze.
In order to maintain a good round shape you should refrigerate your meatballs before forming. We did not care about the shape so we went from bowl to pan.
In a large skillet arrange enough meatballs to fill the pan without touching and brown on all sides.
Transfer to 300 degree oven to finish cooking for 10-15 minutes.
Serve on your favorite roll, topped with cheese and tomato jam.
*When making anything meatball or meatloaf related take a small bite size amount of meat and cook in a pan to make sure seasonings are just right.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 lb ground turkey (or any other ground meat)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 6 button mushrooms, stems removed, finely chopped
- 2 tbls prepared pesto
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 lbs cherry tomatoes, washed
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 2 tbls olive oil
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat add all of the tomato jam ingredients (cherry tomatoes to red pepper flakes) and simmer till mixture is reduced to a thick sauce, approx 1 hour.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat add all of the tomato jam ingredients and simmer till mixture is reduced to a thick sauce, approx 45-60 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl gently fold all of the meatball ingredients until combined.
- Gently form the meat into the size you prefer, do not squeeze.
- In order to maintain a good round shape you should refrigerate your meatballs before forming. We did not care about the shape so we went from bowl to pan.
- In a large skillet arrange enough meatballs to fill the pan without touching and brown on all sides.
- Transfer to 300 degree oven to finish cooking for 10-15 minutes.
Shae woke up the next morning asking if there were any meatballs left. HA, no way. They couple that were left were gobbled down by Rob when he found them in the fridge floating in the leftover tomato jam. This is something we’ll make again. 
Come join me and my co-hosts, Sarah of Play to Learn with Sarah, Paula at Frosted Fingers, Sara at Sensibly Sara, Reesa of Momma Lew, Kate of Busy Bee Kate & Jeannette of EcoIncognito each week linking up a post, new or old, that feature the theme Kids in the Kitchen. It doesn’t matter what you are doing as long as you are doing it together, enjoying it and learning something along the way.
- preparing healthy snacks
- having a tea party
- counting skills with m&ms
- pouring from measuring cups
- discovering a local restaurant that your kids love
- creating new family friendly recipes
You’ll find these and many more ideas for healthful and unique food fun on the #KidsintheKitchen Pinterest Board.
