Spaghetti with Stuffed Meatballs
Tue, Mar 2, 2010
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This recipe is my take on some stuffed meatballs that I saw in a Williams-Sonoma catalog a few years back. I like to make my marinara sauce but you can use your favorite store-bought sauce if you are in a hurry. Your kids will be excited to find a treasure of cheese inside each meatball. Use different types of cheeses so that each meatball is a surprise. The meatballs are moist {and stuffed with cheese} so your family probably won’t even notice that they are made with ground turkey.
- 1 pound spaghetti noodles or your favorite type of pasta, cooked and drained
- ½ of an onion, chopped
- ½ of a green bell pepper, chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 zucchini, sliced, optional
- 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, crushed by hand, including the juices
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp crushed oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper, optional
- Dash of black pepper
- Dash of salt, to taste
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- ¼ cup water, optional, depending on the desired consistency
- Dash of red wine, optional
- 1- 1¼ pounds ground turkey, ground chicken or ground beef
- ¼ cups breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 18½-inch cubes of Mozzarella or Jack cheese
- Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil and sauté the vegetables over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes until the onion and garlic are translucent.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Pour the sauce into a blender or use a hand-held blender to blend the sauce until it is smooth. You can adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding water and tomato paste.
- Return the sauce to the pan and bring it to a boil.
- Cover the pan, reduce the heat & let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season the sauce to taste.
- Cook the spaghetti noodles according to the directions on the package.
- Drain and rinse the noodles.
- Mix the seasonings with the ground turkey.
- Form the meat into 18 balls.
- Press a cheese cube into the center of each meatball and seal it closed.
- Place the meatballs in a lightly-oiled pan over medium heat.
- Brown all sides of the meatballs. This will help the meatballs keep their form when they are simmering in the sauce. The meatballs don't need to be completely cooked yet because they will continue to cook in the sauce.
- Place the meatballs in the marinara sauce, cover the pan and let everything simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the meatballs are completely cooked.
- Let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes more.
- Serve the meatballs over spaghetti topped with Parmesan cheese.
Tags: cheese, cheese stuffed meatballs, feta cheese, ground turkey, marinara sauce, meatballs, spaghetti, spaghetti and meatballs, stuffed meatballs, tomatoes
So delicious! My husband gave me a big green light to make these again soon. The meatballs would aslo make a great appetizer on their own for cocktail parties.