Healthy turkey nuggets!

My kids love nuggets. Unfortunately, that usually means the greasy, mystery meat variety from the fast food joint. So when Once a Month Mom posted a recipe for Apple Chicken Nuggets for the freezer, I had to try them!

I used ground turkey instead of chicken, and they turned out fine - the moisture in the spinach kept the meat from drying out too badly. If you don't have spinach eaters in the house, try using grated apple and carrot, or grated zucchini instead. You'll still get the extra nutritional punch from the veggies without the stronger taste.

Homemade nuggets (adapted from OAMM's Apple Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:
1lb ground turkey
1 large onion, diced small
1 large apple, peeled and grated (about 1 cup)
1 tsp dried sage (or 1/2 tsp ground sage)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried parsley
2 cup frozen spinach (no need to thaw)
Panko crumbs
PAM cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Use your hands to mix everthing together well.

Pour the Panko crumbs in a pie dish or other shallow dish. Spray a baking sheet with PAM spray.

Form about a 1 1/2" meatball with the meat mixture, then flatten into a nugget shape. Bread all sides with Panko and place on the baking sheet.

Before putting the pan in the oven, spray the tops of the nuggets with PAM spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turning the nuggets over about halfway through baking. Makes about 2 dozen nuggets.

**To freeze: flash freeze in a single layer on a cookie pan, then store in a gallon freezer bag. Reheat in the microwave for a minute or so, or in the toaster oven (about 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees)**

Total Cost:
Ground Turkey: $1.805.35
Onion: $0.30
Apple: $0.30
Frozen Spinach: $1.80
Panko: $1.99
Seasonings: $0.15

Grand Total: $5.34 for about 48 nuggets, or 8 6-nugget servings!