Oven Baked Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with Homemade Pasta Sauce

I love Italian food. That's my intro.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1 lb ground meat (I used pork for this recipe, but any meat is good: turkey, lamb, beef, sometimes I mix it up like half lamb and half turkey or whatever.)
about 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used mozzarella, but parmesan tastes good too, any cheese should be good)
1 clove garlic (diced)
1/4 onion or green apple (diced)
1 egg
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko, because I ran out of breadcrumbs)
salt and pepper

Pasta Sauce:
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz--or you can just use fresh tomatoes instead of canned)
1 can stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz--can be substituted for fresh)
1/2 onion (diced)
mushrooms-- a lot (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (diced)
sugar (about 1 tbsp)
basil (about 1-2 tbsp--I used dried, but I'm sure fresh would taste better)
parsley (about 1-2 tbsp)
Italian seasoning (about 1-2 tsp)
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
optional: red pepper flakes

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat up a large pot and add some olive oil. I ran out, so I actually used grapeseed oil. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and if you like spicy pasta sauce, add some red pepper flakes too.

photo taken by Andrew

Cook until mushrooms shrink down and onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes (diced and stewed) and tomato paste. Mix well. Add the basil, italian seasoning, sugar, parsley, and bay leaves. Italian seasoning is good because it's basically all the herbs you want for italian food (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc) but in one container. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also added some cayenne pepper because I like my sauce spicy, but this is optional as well. Allow the sauce to heat up and bubble, then turn down and let it simmer while you make your meatballs. Stir occasionally.

photo taken by Andrew

Mix the ground meat, onion, and garlic. Add salt and pepper. Add the egg and incorporate thoroughly. Add the breadcrumbs and mix well. The egg helps keep the meatballs together, and the breadcrumbs keep the meat tender. The onion helps keep it nice and juicy plus adds flavor. Just kidding, I made that up... but it seems right. (?) Sometimes instead of onions, I use green apples. YUM! and if I'm in an extra good mood I also add diced mushrooms and chives.

photo taken by Andrew

Next, you want to take about this much meat and shape a little "pocket" to stuff your cheese.

photo taken by Andrew

Stuff that little pocket with cheese. Either cover the hole with more meat, or shape the meat you already have into a little ball about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. You can make them bigger or smaller.

photo taken by Andrew

Place on a baking sheet/pan. You can spray with something or whatever so it doesn't stick. I didn't and mine stuck, but then I got to eat the stuck pieces. Also, some of the cheese will melt out so you might want to cover with foil. You should make about 12-16 meatballs depending on what size you made them. Bake for about 10 minutes, turn over and bake for 10 more. Or don't and just bake for 20 minutes.

After baking, I like to put the meatballs into the bubbling sauce and let it soak up some of the flavor of the sauce before I serve over pasta.


Oh. I almost forgot. Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving. You don't want to eat those... or, if you do... then eat them. I don't care and I won't tell.

Want to hear something funny? I like mixing my pasta with sesame oil before I eat it. My mom always made spaghetti like that and now I can't seem to stop. Be bold and give it a try!