I was thinking about a new way to prepare my meatballs – a more “deconstructed”, baked version perhaps. Making a pot of sauce is heartwarming for sure – and I do it when I have the time – but it does take hours to make. I didn’t have that much time today, since I thought about this dinner at 4pm!!
I made a batch of my meatballs, and baked them in the oven. While they were baking, I prepared a simple sauce in a skillet on top of the stove. I placed the meatballs in the sauce, added pepperoni slices, bocconcini mozzarella balls, and baked the whole thing in the oven for about 30 min. This came out bubbly, and cheesy, and oh so good! I topped this skillet full of goodness with fresh chopped basil. I served the meatballs on plates, with warmed foccacia bread and an amazing Italian salad. There was plenty of sauce for sopping! I think the meatballs would be equally good served on rolls.
You could add whatever you prefer to this dish – sauteed onions or mushrooms, and you could cut up a piece of fresh mozzarella cheese if you don’t have the bocconcini. I chose not to use shredded cheese, as I didn’t want to cover the meatballs. You will need to use a LARGE oven proof skillet for this recipe. It can go right into the oven. If you don’t have this, then once the sauce is made, you could add all ingredients into a 13″ x 9″ pan, and bake it in the oven.
Make a batch of meatballs – see my prior post for recipe – http://recipesinspiredbymom.com/spaghetti-sauce-meatballs-sausage/. For this recipe, I used 2 lbs ground chuck. This would serve at least 6 – 8.
Sauce recipe:
1 – 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 – 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
Sliced pepperoni
1 lb Bocconcini mozzarella balls (or fresh mozzarella, rough chopped)
fresh basil, chopped
Bake meatballs in the oven at 350 degrees, for 30 min. I turn them over once during baking. Remove from oven. Increase temp to 375 degrees.
In a LARGE skillet, add crushed and roasted tomatoes, salt and pepper, oregano, and garlic. Simmer while meatballs are in the oven, or for 20-30 min, stirring occasionally.
Add meatballs to skillet, add pepperoni slices, and mozzarella. Tuck them in between the meatballs.
Bake at 375 for about 30 min on top oven rack. For additional browning on the cheese, broil for last few min.
Sprinkle with chopped basil, and serve!
