Mozzarella Stuffed Slow Cooker Meatballs Recipe 375

Steps:

• Grate the bread into coarse crumbs on the large holes of a box grater; put in a large bowl. Add the milk and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the bread to soak up the milk. Add the beef, Parmesan, parsley, onion, garlic, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper; mix until just combined. Shape the meat mixture into 18 meatballs, working a piece of mozzarella into the center of each and making sure it?s completely covered. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Bring the marinara sauce to a very light simmer in a large Dutch oven or large wide pot. Heat half of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally and adding the remaining oil as needed, until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to the marinara sauce as they are browned.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, gently stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. Adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Serve over hot pasta.

Steps:

• Chop each cheese stick into 1/2-inch pieces. There should be about 6-8 pieces for each cheese stick. Place on a plate and chill in the freezer until ready to use. Add ground beef, bread crumbs, whole egg, egg yolk, garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Mush the ingredients together with your hands until everything comes together. Remove cheese from freezer. Scoop out about 4 tablespoons of meat mixture and roll into a ball. Gently push a piece of chilled mozzarella into the middle of the meatball. Roll the ball in your hands to cover the hole where the mozzarella cheese was pushed in. Place inside a greased slow cooker and repeat with remaining meat and cheese. When all meatballs are in the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours or on low 3 to 4 hours until meat is cooked through and no longer pink. The cheese may start melting out of the meatballs and that's okay. If desired, sprinkle with a bit of fresh chopped parsley or dried Italian seasoning for garnish, and serve with your favorite marinara or alfredo sauce for dipping. OVEN METHOD: For a quicker method, the meatballs can be baked. Follow directions to make meatballs, but instead of placing them in the slow-cooker, place meatballs 1-inch apart on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes until browned and cheese is melty. MAKE-AHEAD METHOD: These can also be made ahead and frozen by preparing the meatballs as instructed in the recipe, but instead of putting them straight into the slow cooker or the oven to bake, just place them side by side in a zip lock bag, seal, and place in the freezer. When ready to cook them, follow recipe instructions and increase cooking time slightly to allow for thawing.

Steps:

• Add all ingredients EXCEPT Mozzarella and pasta sauce into large bowl. Knead to combine until uniform. Spoon a 1.5 inch ball of meat mixture and roll into a ball. Press 1 cube of mozzarella into center of meatball and roll meat to surround the cube. Repeat with remaining meat and cubes. Pour 1/3 jar into Slow cooker, evenly coating bottom of insert. Add meatballs in single, loosely spaced layer in slow cooker. Cover with pasta sauce, stack more meatballs in second layer. Add more sauce and meatballs. Set slow cooker to High for 2-2.5 hours