Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

This idea intrigued me. I had seen it so much on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" that I knew I would be trying stuffed meatballs at some point in my life. I was intimidated since I barely got my original meatball recipe perfected, and I knew this would have to be more dense to keep whatever the filling was trapped inside. So I went simple, I love cheese, it seems quite apparent from my previous posts. I just wanted good ol' mozzarella. I found some bomb posts on Pinterest about it (and p.s., if you haven't discovered Pinterest....go, GO NOW, look at the food category and waste WAY too much of your life). I found a great recipe for slow cooker meatballs, and I essentially tweaked the amounts and the method of cooking, here's the original recipe Slow Cooker Mozzarella Meatballs. I only needed to use three quarters the amount of the ingredients, which you'll see later on, and I altered some ingredients. 

I'll just tell you, glad I made these. They were absolutely delicious and not nearly as much fuss as I thought it would be. These would be absolutely great for company because the meatball can be made ahead of time and I don't cook the low and slow way with these guys, they went hot and fast in the oven. Very impressive meal, dress up some store bought pasta and you're set!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Ingredients:

3/4 pound spicy sausage

3/4 cup bread crumbs (panko or regular, Italian seasoned or plain)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk (divided, see instructions)

Splash of milk, 2 or 3 tbsp

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 mozzarella cheese sticks (string cheese)

Preheat oven to 425. Okay, first things first, SAUSAGE. Not the norm, I know. Two reasons why, 1) I was going to cook these in a really hot oven for not a long time, and this gave me the fat to brown nicely in that time, and 2) this recipe has a fair amount of binder so it holds the cheese in, and the fat would help that it wouldn't dry out while maintaining the structure. Cut the string cheese sticks roughly in quarters, the size I went for was about the size of my thumb just past my knuckle (so from your knuckle to the tip), does that make sense? I think a quarter was a little big, but it was pretty close. Stick these in the freezer until your meat is ready. Mix your eggs together and pour 1/4 of it down the drain (unless using the recipe in the link and you're using the full pound). There was no way to measure this but by eyeball, sorry kids. Now, mix all your ingredients (except the cheese sticks), by hand until you have a cohesive mixture.  I split my mix into eight balls, so I quartered my ball, then halved each quarter. You take a ball, and a piece of cheese (now out the freezer), after pushing the cheese into the center, pull the meat mixture up the sides and over the top until you can't see any cheese. Roll the ball enough until you cant see any cracks or seams in the meat, pinch with your fingers and smooth it over with your hands if you have to. These will shrink, so any imperfections will just amplify during cooking. Stick these on a foil lined baking tray or casserole dish on the top rack of the oven and bake until nicely browned, about 15 to 20 minutes (my meat mix was room temperature, and ovens will vary). I had two of my eight split open, but the small bit of cheese that leaked out got all nice and crusty, and didn't mind that one bit! I went over the top and melted a little butter and put some fresh chopped herbs and salt and pepper and brushed it on just before serving, but that's just me! They are soooooo good. Stop wondering how good, and just make them. You know you want to :)

Pan Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken

This is a simple recipe. Sometimes I don't have money to burn on chicken breasts, but when I do, I like them simply done and cooked right because they're kind of a treat for me to just have whole and cut up, like a big ol' chicken steak!!! Nothing makes their flavor pop like some lemon, and I can't help but add some garlic into the party! The marinade I make will have its own little post, because it's a great all over marinade for roasting veggies, almost any meat, it's just delicious and versatile. This will go with a lovely lemon pan sauce, and it results in such juicy and brown chicken, it's irresistible. Served with some roasted potatoes and veggies (in one pan, duh!!), that it makes for a uncomplicated and no fuss, but still elegant meal. Enough talk, go make your chicken with lemony goodness! Its a word.....lemony.....lemonie? Spelling isn't what matters! The chicken matters

Pan Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (divided)
3 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1/4 tsp (heaping) salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp (heaping) italian seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp (heaping) lemon pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
Water or chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper to taste

The most important part here is the marinade. It really does all your work for you. Zest your lemon and divide it in half. Put the zest, juice of HALF the lemon, garlic, all the spices, and olive oil in a zip top bag and mix it up. That's your marinade. I like to poke holes in my chicken breast with a fork before I put it in the bag for maximum flavor, but its optional. Put your chicken in and let sit for at least an hour, but no more than three max because the acid in here will change the texture of your meat after a while. 

Preheat your oven to 400 and heat some oil in a skillet over medium high heat. While that heats, make sure when your chicken comes out the marinade theres no chunks of garlic on them, they'll burn, no need to wipe the marinade off. Cook them until nicely brown on each side, about 2 or 3 minutes per side. Off the heat, add the juice of the other half a lemon, and enough water to barely come up the side of the chicken, maybe about 1/2 a cup. You basically want enough to deglaze and ensure that the pan won't run out of water during the roasting time. Put it in the oven for about 12 minutes, give or take. It depends if you let your chicken come up to room temperature and how fast your oven is. Take the chicken out to rest while you do your sauce. It's essentially just deciding how thick you want it. I had enough brown bits on the bottom that I didn't need stock, the water turned into a really rich stock, and the lemon I had was really juicy, so that half was all I needed. I added the rest of my zest, about 1 tbsp of flour mixed with some water, cooked it for about two minutes until I had a nice glossy sauce (not as thick as gravy), and finished it with salt and pepper. The sauce consistency is your call, add more or less flour and lemon juice depending how "lemony" you like it. It was a delightful sauce, it really was. Just take in mind, as it sits and thickens, it can get pretty acidic, so I would eat as soon as its done! Yum yum! Simplicity at its finest

Cheese Tortellini with Sausage and Tomato Cream Sauce

I know, I know. "Sarah, where have you been?!" I'm a turrible person, yes, I said turrible, not terrible. School and a particular baby have been eating up my time and brain space, and I apologize. That being said, I went grocery shopping after planning my whole week of dinners, and I'm SUPER excited for what's in store. Not to mention I got enough ingredients for six home cooked dinners, enough leftovers for two or three impressive lunches, and some bisquick and sausage links for some lovely breakfasts for $60. That being said, I accomplished said trip because my precious baby was at grandmas house, and so that means today was cleaning day! Not really feeling like putting a whole bunch of time into my cooking, but wanted something great to eat at the end of today. I picked a good option...it was so good.

It was start a new paragraph good. See, I'm Italian at heart, and big old plate of pasta with some crusty garlic bread is just what I need sometimes. Nothing warms my tummy quite the same, and this just did it. The best part, is the sauce in this recipe is so versatile, you can do almost anything with it. I am going to put two different suggestions, simply because next time I make it, I already thought of what I want to do different and see the variety that could make it absolutely both versatile AND delicious. Plus its a cheater recipe, and who doesn't need those every now and then. Get your stretchy pants and fuzzy socks.....it's about to get delicious and full of pasta!

 

Tortellini and Cream Sauce 

Ingredients:

1 12 oz frozen bag cheese tortellini

8 oz smoked sausage, cut in whatever style you like (or realistically any meat you prefer)

1 regular sized can Italian style diced tomatoes (save the juice)

1/2 any variety onion, diced fine

1 clove garlic, diced fine

1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flake (depending how much heat you like)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

8 oz softened cream cheese OR 1 can cream of chicken soup with a handful of mozzarella tossed in

Salt and pepper to taste 

Roll with me on these directions, so my "OR" option doesn't throw you off. The technique is as follows: Take your meat, I used smoked sausage diced into half moons, and brown them in a pot (big enough for the whole dish) over medium heat in olive oil (or any oil you have), until nicely browned. Take them out and put them on a plate. Add in your diced onion and cook for about 3 minutes until translucent, while scraping away the brown goodness on the bottom of the pan. In the meantime, strain your tomatoes and save the liquid, you will use it to thin your sauce, and you paid for it! Use it! Add your meat, onion, and strained tomatoes into your pot. I used cream of chicken soup and had some mozzarella on hand, so I added about 3/4 of a cup and mixed all that together. Then I added as much of my strained liquid until my sauce was the thickness I like, this is a personal preference, add as much or as little as you want. I already had my tortellini thawed, so I just put them in my sauce to warm through and merry a little, about 10 minutes. If yours aren't thawed, follow the directions to do so, or cook them right in the sauce. Just remember at the end, depending on how much tomato liquid you added, you may need to adjust seasoning. Enjoy! I know I did :D

The OR option: you could totally add cream cheese instead of the canned soup and cheese and you would probably just need more tomato juice to thin it out, but if you like your pasta extra creamy/tangy, this IS your option :)

Also, I bought some of that awesome herb and garlic bread from the bakery at Wal-Mart for a dollar and made awesome garlic bread. I follow something close to this. Thanks Tyler! Tyler Florence Herb Garlic Bread