Cheesy Italian Meatballs And Spaghetti Recipes

JUMBO CHEESY ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Make the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Pulse the bread in a food processor to make coarse crumbs. Transfer to a small bowl, add the milk and set aside to soak. Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the beef, parsley, parmesan, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes; mix with your hands to combine. Add the bread-milk mixture and mix until just combined (do not overmix).
• Dampen your hands and shape the meat mixture into 4 large balls. Make an indentation in the center of each with your thumb and stuff with a mini mozzarella ball, then mold the meat around the cheese. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake until browned and firm, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic softens, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, 1 cup water, the basil sprigs and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the sauce, spooning some of the sauce on top. Continue cooking, occasionally spooning the sauce over the meatballs, until tender and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Serve with ricotta and chopped basil.
• You can form all of these meatballs a day ahead; cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

CHEESE-STUFFED MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Place cheese cubes in small resealable freezer plastic bag; seal bag and freeze at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix bread crumbs and 3 tablespoons of the pasta sauce. Stir in beef, onion, salt, oregano and egg. Shape mixture into 18 (2-inch) balls. Press 1 cheese cube into center of each ball, sealing it inside. Gently place in pan. Bake 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour remaining pasta sauce into 5-quart Dutch oven. Cover; heat to simmering over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Gently stir in meatballs; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center.
• Meanwhile, cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package; keep warm.
• Serve meatballs and sauce over spaghetti. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

CHEESY ITALIAN MEATBALL POCKETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place marinara sauce in a medium bowl and add meatballs halves; toss to coat in the sauce.
• Remove crescent dough sheet from the can and place on a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a well defined rectangle and cut into 4 equal rectangles.
• Place 6 meatball halves cut-side down onto one of the rectangles, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spoon a bit of the sauce over the meatballs and top with 3 tablespoons Italian cheese. Repeat with another rectangle.
• Brush the border of each rectangle with beaten egg. Cover fillings with remaining rectangles, pinching edges with your fingers and straightening them as you go. Crimp the edges with a fork. Transfer both pockets to the baking sheet using a spatula. Brush with some beaten egg and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve with remaining marinara sauce for dipping.

EASY CHEESY MEATBALLS WITH SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Finely chop the onion and chop the grated cheese into small pieces. Lightly beat the two eggs and mince or blend the garlic cloves.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the mince, eggs, onion, cheese, basil, garlic and lightly season with salt and pepper. Combine until all the ingredients are all mixed through.
• Roll into 24 palm-sized balls and dredge in flour.
• In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and lightly brown the meatballs in batches. Do this in batches and until all sides of the meatballs are brown, approximately 5 minutes per batch.
• While the first batch of meatballs in browning spray the bottom of a large saucepan or a stockpot with non-stick spray. Pour a small amount of the bolognese sauce into the bottom of the pot (just enough to cover the bottom).
• Drain each batch on some paper towel, then add to the pot. Add some sauce in between each layer of meatballs and top with the final amount of sauce. Cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cook your spaghetti according to the directions on the packet.

CHEESY ITALIAN MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Bring pasta sauce and parsley to boil on medium heat, stirring frequently.
• Stir in meatballs; simmer on medium-low heat 8 min., stirring occasionally. Top with cheese; cook 2 min. or until meatballs are heated through and cheese is melted.
• Serve over spaghetti.

CHEESY ITALIAN MEATBALL CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pan.
• Stir in the pasta sauce, meatballs, and tomato sauce. Transfer to a 9"x13" baking dish.
• Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile in a bowl, combine the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses.
• Uncover pasta, mix, and spoon cheese mixture in mounds over pasta. Cover loosely and bake about 10 minutes more or until heated through.
• Top with mozarrella cheese and bake uncovered 5 minutes longer.

CHEESY BAKED SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line the bottom and sides of medium saucepan to about half-way up with the frozen meatballs, and pour in marinara sauce until all meatballs are covered. Set to simmer on low heat.
• Take out frozen vegetables, leave on counter.
• In a large pot, follow the directions to cook 1 pound of spaghetti, drain and return to pot.
• With a dinner knife, divide each meatball in half, and then pour into spaghetti pot with sauce, open frozen vegetables and pour into spaghetti pot.
• Mix well, slowly adding two cups of shredded mozzarella.
• Pour mixture into 13x9 baking dish, sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella on top.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until mozzarella on top is melted.

CHEESY ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy based casserole dish and add only half the carrot, onion, and garlic. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes until softened. Stir in passata, tomato paste and water, simmer for 5 minutes.
• For the meatballs: Combine the remaining carrot, onion and garlic with mince, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg and seasonings. Knead thoroughly with your hands until the mixture is very sticky, shape the mixture into golf ball sized balls and stuff each with one cube of cheddar ensuring that the cheese is fully enclosed. (Moistening your hands with water helps here in shaping the balls).
• Drop the meatballs into the simmering sauce, cook over low heat, covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve meatballs sprinkled with parsley and parmesan, over spaghetti or just accompanied with seasonal vegetables or a salad.

CHEESY ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and roll into small meatballs. I wear disposable rubber gloves to make cleanup easier.
• Let sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before cooking.
• Heat non-stick skillet over medium and cook meatballs until nicely browned.
• Add a jar of spaghetti sauce, simmer and serve with cooked pasta.
• Leftovers make as awesome meatball sandwich, just toast and top with mozzarella cheese.