Can anyone else believe that we are already in July?! Where has the year gone? When Judah proposed to me on January 17th I thought we would never get to June, and now we are already at July. Crazy!
Warning: if you harass your husband about not buying you flowers, and he worked as a landscaper, you might find him coming him with these:
He actually bought me these petunias so I can transfer them to a pot and they will last longer than a bouquet :) Okay, maybe that was a really smart idea! Before we get to the recipe for today, I'll give you all a Maple update too.
Awwwwww....Isn't she sooooo adorable!?! She is finally eating - a TON. She loves lettuce and I found she likes red bell pepper. Next time we will try green or yellow. She is eating her pellets and drinking water. She still isn't eating as much hay as I think she should be, but that'll come with time. She is getting more comfortable with me and Judah because she will now venture around her cage while we are in the room.
Now on to Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs! These are pretty easy to make, but take about an hour to prepare! They're ideal for a make-ahead recipe.
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs (yields 25-35)
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork/mild italian sausage
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
*3 cloves of garlic, minced
**1/2 lb mozzarella, cut into cubes
olive oil
1 jar pasta sauce
*I personally can't eat garlic, so I did not use this!
**You can also use mozzarella string cheese and cut it into 1/2" pieces
Combine all the ingredients from the beef to the pepper. Mix well - you will probably have to get your hands dirty. Cut the mozzarella into small 1/2" pieces. Cover each piece of cheese with the meatball mixture - you want about 2" sized pieces. You should get ~30 meatballs, depending on how big or small you make them. Heat olive oil (you want a thin layer) in a pan. Brown the meatballs, then transfer to a larger pot. Cover with sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Here are the pre-browned meatballs:
You'll want to brown the meatballs 6-8 at a time, rotating every 30-45 seconds so you don't burn them. By the way, I am LOVING my new cast iron skillet we got from Mike as a wedding gift. It is amazing and cleans so easy. I haven't tried using it in the oven yet though.
Your goal is only to brown them, you won't be able to cook the inside. Place the browned meatballs into a large saucepan.
Once they are all browned, cover with sauce.
This is the new organic product line from Walmart at affordable prices! Two weeks ago, I had been looking for a new Prego sauce to try and noticed that this brand was listed at the same price, but was organic! I figured why not try it? Turns out, it's really delicious! It's a little too chunky for my preference, so I will try to throw it in the food processor next time before cooking it. Oh, and I used one and 3/4 of these jars - you can use both, but my pot wasn't big enough ;D
Finally, for the meatballs, let them simmer over low/medium heat for 30 minutes, covered, so the meatballs cook all the way through!
Mmm...! The cheese may melt out of a few of the meatballs, but that's normal. The sauce will probably bubble a little, but you don't want it to boil! Stir the meatballs around every 5-10 minutes to prevent the bottom ones from burning.
Serve with your favorite pasta and enjoy! They freeze very well, so even for Judah and I, it's a great meal to make and have plenty of leftovers! We have four leftover meals from this one recipe :D
This is a great recipe to make with one other person, since they can start browning the meatballs as you form them, and that will save some time. In total, it took me about an hour to get the meatballs from separate ingredients to simmering in the pot.
Enjoy :D
Readers: Are you a fan of meatballs? What's your favorite pasta sauce?
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