Mozza Stuffed Meatballs

Meatballs are quite delicious on their own, but add adding a river of cheese to the centre of them really steps them up a notch.

This recipe first came to be one night when my husband and I were making meatballs for a potluck style dinner during our early days of marriage.  We had some extra mozzarella in the fridge, so on a whim, he decided to add a small cube of cheese to the centre of each meatball. It was a great decision, and now every time we make meatballs with the intention of bathing them in marina sauce, mozzarella always makes it way into the centre.

These work great as an individual appetizer, for a fancier version of spaghetti and meatballs, or one of my personal favourite – meatball subs.   You can easily make these well in advance – simply freeze individual (cooked) meatball on a cookie sheet and transfer into a freezer bag (this will help prevent the meatballs from sticking to each other).  You can even freeze the meatballs in sauce - to re-heat – simply place in a slow cooker or in the oven.

Ingredients

Meatballs:

- 4 oz mozzarella, cut into cubes

(or 4 cheese strings)

- 1 lbs lean ground beef

- 1 egg

-1/4 cup breadcrumbs

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 tbsp butter

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 jar of your favourite marinara sauce

Directions

Cut mozzarella into small cubes (you’ll need about 20 or so depending on how large you make your meatballs).

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper and mix well.  Form into 1 tbsp sized meatballs, placing a mozzarella cube in the center of each, ensuring the ground beef fully encases it.

Meanwhile, preheat a large frying pan fitted with a lid over medium heat.   Combine 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil to fry your meatballs in. Cook each meatball for 2-3 minutes per side, until no pink remains.  I like to fry my meatballs in two batches so not to overcrowd them.  Before each batch, be sure to wipe the frying pan out with paper towel and start with fresh butter and oil to fry.

Once meatballs are cooked, transfer them onto paper towel to absorb any extra grease.  Transfer meatballs into the sauce, and serve.

Enjoy!