Growing up in Indonesia, there wasn’t easy access for good cheeses. Also I detested cheese, I think because I thought it was just so fattening. I already ate so much fried food as I could possibly have. The first time I tried cheese was when I was a responsible adult, and boy did I love it. All this time, I was missing out!
One thing though, I only like cooked or melted cheese, the crispier the better. I still never tried camembert (don’t ask me how to pronounce this), brie or goats cheese. Which limits my ability to be a real foodie blogger!
Now I cheese almost everything , including ramen! This particular meatball recipe, has cheese inside and out. And just be generous with it. Here’s a cheese, there’s a cheese, everywhere is cheese cheese.
Ingredients:
4 string cheese packets -cubed
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup parsley –chopped and divided
2 cloves garlic –minced
1/4 cup Parmesan, plus more for serving
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 15-oz jar marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tsp fresh thyme (optional)
Instructions:
- Combine ground beef, pork, breadcrumbs, eggs, 2 tablespoons of parsley, minced and parmesan. Season salt and pepper and stir to combine. Scoop meatball mixture into small ball (about 2 tablespoons or I used ice cream scoop) and press 1 cube mozzarella into the center, sealing meat tightly around cheese. Repeat with remaining meatball mixture and cheese.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook to brown on all sides, around 3 minutes each side. When the meatballs have developed a nice crust, pour marinara into the skillet and carefully stir so the meatballs are coated with sauce.
- Remove skillet from heat, sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top of the meatballs evenly and put in 400F oven for about 12 minutes or until the cheesy top turn golden.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with thyme. Enjoy!