LadyMe2: Stuffed Meatballs

This is my own creation. If you do not like tomatoes then replace it with cheese. But I do warn you, tomatoes are very juicy and add significantly to the juiciness and flavor of the resulting meatballs.

Ingredients for the Meatballs:

2lbs 85/15 ground beef. If you want to take this up a notch try 1 lb of ground beef and 1lb of ground pork. The end result is a very smooth textured meatball with a unique flavor.

3 tbs low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp dried Italian herb seasonings

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 cup of extra fine Italian style bread crumbs

2 eggs

Ingredients for the Stuffing:

2 Roma tomatoes chopped up into very small bits

1/4 cup of finely shredded cheese, such as mozzarella or an Italian blend

2 tsp of fresh chopped basil. If you don't have it fresh then use 1.5 tsp of the dried version, but of course fresh is way better.

2 boxes of pasta
2 jars of the pasta sauce of your choice

I leave the amount of pasta and sauce to use up to you. This recipe definitely makes enough meatballs for a family of four and then some.

Directions:

Start boiling water to cook the pasta. Cook the pasta as directed on the box. Take the ground beef and add all the ingredients listed for the meatballs. Mix it all together very thoroughly.

Next, start chopping the Roma tomatoes and add in the other ingredients for the stuffing.

To start forming the meatballs, I took enough meat to fit into my fist and rolled it into a smooth ball. I continued this until I had all the meatballs formed and distributed the meat as even as possible. I was able to make 15 meatballs. Once they were all formed I poked a hole into them.

Then I took an estimated 1/2 tsp of the stuffing and put it into the hole.

Then I pinched the hole shut.

Place the meatballs on a glass 13x9 baking dish (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray), with the hole side facing up. Cook the meatballs in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until cooked though and browned.

By this time the pasta should be done. Drain it and set aside.

Once the meatballs are cooked, take them out of the oven. Take a large pot and add the 2 jars of pasta sauce to it. Set the heat to medium. Use a slotted spoon to remove each meatball from the glass baking dish (wiggle slightly so that any grease or fat can drip off), and add it to the pasta sauce. Cook it together for about 5 minutes just to heat up the sauce.