Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with Pasta

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My spaghetti secrets used to be a pound of ground beef, jar of sauce and box of noodles. I was taking some flack for this winning combination though. See, a friend of mine was always out doing me with her meatballs. She made me jealous. Yes, friend, you know who you are don’t you? HAHA

I needed to keep up with this friend with all her fancy-meal-making. Soooo… I turned to the internet and perused around for a bit to find some recipes on spaghetti and meatballs. I found a few that I liked, got the idea and started playing with it. Hehe… Yes, I am the cook that doesn’t like to follow recipes very often.

After mentioning what we were having for dinner on twitter I had some people asking for more info on this tasty sounding dish. Here’s the best I can gather on how I create this dish, but I cannot guarantee any of my meals taste the same twice because sometimes I just feel like changing things up a bit.

 
Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with Pasta
Meatballs:
1 lb grnd beef, thawed
1 C bread crumbs
1 tbsp parsley
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano, fresh if possible
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 C mozzarella cheese

Sauce:
1/4 C olive oil
2 garlic cloves (or 2 tsp Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic)
2 14oz can diced tomato
2 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/8 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp basil, fresh if possible

1 lb or more of preferred pasta

DIRECTIONS:
Pulse 1 can of diced tomato in food processor until thick, but not soupy. Place a large sauce pan over medium heat; add olive oil, garlic and heat. Next add can of diced tomato, can of pulsed tomato, tomato sauce, salt and sugar. Stir, cover and simmer while preparing meatballs.

In a large glass bowl combine beef, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic powder, oregano and egg by hand. Mix well. Flatten 1/4 cup of mix in hand, place a pinch of mozzarella cheese in the middle and form a ball around the cheese. (Wash hands well, counter and any utensils that come in contact with raw meat.)

Stir in tomato paste, pepper and basil to sauce. Add meat balls to sauce, bring to boil, reduce to simmer about 30 min or until meat is fully cooked and browned. Serve warm over pasta of choice.

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