I am constantly relearning the fact that my children are picky eaters.  If it is something they have never seen before it is automatically “yucky” in their eyes.  For my daughter, if there is green bits on it of any kind she will not go near it.  There are a few things however that they will both eat with gusto.  Meatballs is one of them.  My children actually love meatballs.  We do not eat them a lot, but I do try to keep some in the freezer.  Yes, these freeze well and are easily re-heated in the microwave.  As my entire family eats them they do not stay in the freezer for very long.

I was getting a little tired of meatballs in marinara sauce, and I was not sure if the kids would eat just plain old gravy.  I did not have any BBQ sauce on hand, but it sounded good.  So, after searching the internet for ideas (there were a lot…) I decided to just start throwing things in until it tasted good.  It was a success, the sauce was great and the kids still ate it.  This is really the most important part, having food the kids will eat is what is really important these days.

The meatballs include Parmesan cheese, I feel it is important to say that you should use fresh grated Parmesan not the powdered stuff.  The cheese gives it a melty quality that the powdered cheese just does not create.  I also want to note that it can be made gluten free by replacing the bread crumbs with your favorite gluten free bread crumbs.

Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 tbls onion flakes

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbls parsley

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1 egg

salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. (I use my hands, its just easier)
3. Make into 24 meatballs.
4. Bake for about 12 minutes.

BBQ Sauce

2 c Ketchup

2 tbls Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp vinegar

2 tsp dry mustard

1.5 tbls brown sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 pinch chili powder

1 tsp onion powder

pinch cayenne pepper

1 tbls soy sauce

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan and mix well.
2. Heat to simmer and simmer 5-10 minutes.
3. Serve over meatballs.