Pepper Jack Cheese Stuffed Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

MEATBALL LUV!

There is a special place in my heart for a good, homemade meatball. I love meatballs over pasta, served alone, stuffed inside a nice, toasted, crusty loaf of bread topped with mozzarella cheese. Just like my famous Meatball Sandwich I made a while back.

Well, today I decided I wanted to take my meatballs and stuff them. Yes, you heard right, I stuffed them with some spicy pepper jack cheese, and I must warn you, these meatballs are addictive! If you don't believe me, then try them and see what happens.

I started with some day old sourdough bread, tore into pieces and place into a large bowl.

I used my blender to chop the white onions, garlic and green onions.

I removed some Andouille and Italian sausage from the casing, added seasonings, two beaten eggs, and mixed well.

Roll each meatball into golf ball size and using your thumb poke a little hole and add a piece of cheese. Roll back into a perfect ball and repeat.

Brown meatballs in a little extra virgin olive oil.

Perfectly browned and ready to finish cooking in the sauce.

Yep, this is lava flow!

Serve with crusty bread because believe me, you will be dipping, to soak up all the sauce.

Meatball beauty, what do you think?

Pepper Jack Cheese Stuffed Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 6-8

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh andouille sausage, casing removed
1 lb fresh Italian sausage, casing removed
2 c. tore sourdough bread
2 eggs, beaten
4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch of green onions, minced
1/2 c. minced parsley
1 tbsp. creole seasoning
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. oregano, crushed
1 tbsp. onion powder
1/2 tbsp. black pepper
1 8oz. block of pepper jack cheese cubed into 1/2 inch

Directions:

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients except the cheese. Using a 1/4  measuring cup form meatballs into balls and place on a cookie sheet. With your thumb press a hole into each meatball and place 1 cube of cheese.

Form back into a ball shape and set aside. In a large skillet add 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, add meatballs and brown on all sides about 2-3 minutes per side, remove and set aside. Repeat until all meatballs are browned.

Sauce:

1 small can tomato paste
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. creole seasoning
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 c. chicken broth

Directions:
 
After browning meatballs, add chopped onion to pot and saute for about 5 minutes, add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add ground turkey and cook until browned about 12 minutes, add all seasonings and mix well.

Add tomato paste and cook for about 6 minutes, add tomato sauce and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add browned meatballs and cook for about 30-40 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. 

Serve with pasta and extra Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.