Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce

Tonights meal was a huge hit. Maybe it was the meatballs, maybe it was the dipping sauce, this evening picky oldest actually exclaimed quite emphatically, "I really like tonights dinner Mommy! And so does Trevor! And so does Daddy and so does Charissa and so do you! That's good, isn't it!?" Yup, it is my darling boy.

I am a huge fan of food bloggers, mostly because of my business site, Can I get the Recipe? but also because I am constantly receiving fabulous recipes from mom bloggers just like me. Take this recipe for instance. I spotted it from What Did You Eat? and instantly knew I had to make my own version. (You can visit the site here if you want to see the original version.)

Because we eat gluten free most nights, I replaced a few of the ingredients with gluten free products. My youngest has recently been tested for dairy sensitivities because of him having excema (still waiting for results) so I've also been replacing milk with soy, rice or almond milk. Pretty healthy changes and I tell you, they're darn good meatballs! And the sauce? Mmmm! mmm!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce

(Adapted from original recipe by What Did You Eat? Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup rice milk (or almond or soy)

1/3 cup processed rice thin crackers (or you could use panko or fine dry bread crumbs)

1  1/2 pounds (650 grams) lean ground turkey

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon finely minced ginger root

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or table)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided (I use gluten free)

4 teaspoons sesame oil, divided

juice from 2 limes (2 tablespoons) Tip: Microwave 20 seconds then roll firmly on counter before juicing

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons honey

1 cup brown basmati rice

2 cups sugar peas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Begin to cook rice according to package directions.

Place processed rice thin cracker in a large bowl. Cover with rice milk and stir until absorbed.

Add turkey, beaten egg, salt, chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil.

Mix gently with your hands until combined. Shape into large meatballs (about 3 tablespoons per meatball) and place 1/2 inch apart on a baking sheet.

Place in oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Turn a medium pot of water on to boil for the peas.

While meatballs cook, combine lime juice, water, honey and remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a small bowl. Steam peas.

Remove meatballs and place in a serving dish. Whisk sauce to recombine then drizzle 1 tablespoon of sauce over the meatballs. Place remaining dipping sauce in small individual bowls.

Serve meatballs with rice, peas and sauce.

Note: I didn't drizzle sauce over the kids meatballs but let them dip them instead, just in case they didn't like the taste of the sauce. Youngest LOVED the sauce. Oldest, not so much!