mozzarella stuffed meatballs

If you've ever met me you know that handling raw meat does not rank high on my list of favorite things.  If I've had to deal with raw meat to make you food, be happy.  It means I must really like you.  This could not be truer than when I decided to make this dish for Jeff tonight.

Add all your ingredients except the mozzarella into your bowl and mix until just combined.

Just mixed.  Grab small handfuls and fill with mozzarella.

The meatballs should be as round and evenly sized as possible.

Pasta and meatballs is the obvious choice, but Jeff is also planning to enjoy them in a meatball marinara sub.

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mozzarella stuffed meatballs

by Liesl July-12-2014

Cheese inside of meat. What's not to love?

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 2 tsp garlic
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup mozzarella, cut into small chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add all the ingredients except for the mozzarella in a large bowl and stir with a large wooden spoon until just combined. This shuld still feel soft, not hardened.2. Grab small handfuls of meatball mixture and place a mozzarella piece in the middle. Try to get the cheese as close to the middle as possible so the cheese won't escape the meatball in the oven. Then form it into a ball. I made the balls about 2". This size made about 2 dozen meatballs. Place the formed balls on a lipped sheet lined with foil. Separate each meatball by 2" and bake for 15 minutes. If the cheese does bubble out, it's okay. They will still have plenty left inside, and taste great. Serve hot.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: about 2 dozen

update:
Here are some more options.  I made tons of meatballs, really just for Jeff so he's had several choices of how to eat them.  These are his favorites.  Basically many meatball subs.