Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

It should be no surprise that I loved this recipe.  Mozzarella cheese stuffed inside a turkey meatball spiced with basil and oregano to perfection and topped with hearty tomato sauce?  Yes please. 

I realize there have been upwards of ten posts involving turkey meatballs, turkey burgers, turkey sliders, and the like.  I am obsessed with them.  (Let's face it, a ground turkey addiction is better than other things...)  Similar to all the other turkey recipes, this one is delicious.  In fact, I think it is my favorite (for the moment).  We served the stuffed meatballs and the tomato sauce with brown rice and baked broccoli to complete the course.  I am certain this would be great on top of spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine.  They would also be great on their own with corn on the cob or other roasted vegetables.  Yum.

Also, we did a taste test with different cheeses.  For some of the meatballs, we used fresh mozzarella for the stuffing.  For the other half, we used low fat Sargento string cheese cut into cubes.  There were blind tasters on two different occasions and no one could tell the difference.  I kid you not.  So the long story short is, if you use ground turkey and low fat string cheese instead of ground beef and fresh mozzarella, you cut at least 93842093842938418034892832 calories, sodium, and fat without compromising even one iota of taste.  Pretty awesome. 

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs:

• 1.5 pounds ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tablespoons each of oregano and basil (sorry I didn't measure)
• mozzarella cheese cut into cubes (either the low fat string cheese or fresh mozzarella)

1. In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except for the cheese.
2. Mix with your hands or with a potato masher until thoroughly combined.
3. With your hands, form into large egg-sized meatballs and shove the cheese cube into the middle.  Make sure the cheese is completely covered.
4. Heat cooking spray or olive oil in a large skillet.  Cook the meatballs, turning regularly, until cooked through lightly browned.
5. Serve with tomato sauce on top.

Qucik and Easy Tomato Sauce:

• 1/2 of a large onion, diced
• 2 cans no salt added tomato sauce
• 1 or 2 small tomatoes, sliced
• basil and oregano to taste (a tablespoon or two of each)
• a few dashes of red pepper flakes
• a glug of red wine

1. In a skillet heated with olive oil, saute the onions until soft.
2. Add all the tomatoes. 
3. Add the spices.
4. Throw in the red wine.  (I suppose you should pour.)
5. Cook for a few minutes to let the flavors combine.
6. Taste for spice preference and adjust as needed.
7. Serve on top of the meatballs.