Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

The week has just started and it already feels very busy, but busy with fun activities so I can't complain too much.  Our camping trip last weekend was awesome and we didn't get rained out, I even jumped into the freezing river.  Tomorrow night we are headed to our first Hops game ever, they are a local minor league baseball team in Hillsboro.  When I was little we had season tickets to the Portland Rockies and I always had a blast, so this will definitely bring back some memories and we are going with a big group of my family.  Also there is talk of Portland getting a major league baseball team which could be pretty fun too!  If you haven't noticed by now I am kind of obsessed with meatballs, this will officially be my 12th meatball recipe on this blog.  This is very much like my classic Italian meatballs but I added cheese to them and it was delicious.  Enjoy!

Servers 4

The Ingredients

For the meatballs:

½ cup almond flour
1/3 cup grated onion
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried basil
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 lbs. ground beef
2 tsp. olive oil to fry meatballs
2-3 mozzarella string cheese sticks, cut into bite size chunks

For the sauce:

1 jar marinara sauce or you can make your own
1/2 cup whipping cream (optional)
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar


The Process
1.  In a large casserole dish mix together all the sauce ingredients.

2.  Then make the meatballs, combine the almond flour, grated onion, parsley, basil, Parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic and egg.  Stir together with a fork just until blended.  Mix in the ground beef and knead together gently until evenly combined.  Form the mixture into meatballs about 1½-inch in diameter.  Then press your thumb into the ball to create a place to put a chunk of the mozzarella in.  After you insert the cheese roll the ball between both hands to get meat to cover the cheese.

3.  Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the meatballs to the pan in a single layer (two batches may be necessary if you don’t have enough surface area.)  Let cook, turning occasionally, until all sides are browned.

4.  Once all of the meatballs are browned, place them in the pan with the tomato sauce. Top with any extra cheese chunks leftover.  Bake until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10-15 minutes and remove from oven and serve