In the Kitchen with Sandra

My mom has always been a very good cook. From following recipes to creating her own masterpieces she has always managed to roll out some awesome grub. Right now she’s finishing up a Culinary Arts degree. Born with the skill of cooking good food I personally think she’s in it more for the professional knowledge of the business. For whatever reasons I am proud of her and I can’t wait to help manage her business one day.

Today I requested that she start sharing some recipes for me to blog. My plan is to try this every Saturday (preferably earlier in the day). I will invite her over to cook and share with us a recipe of her choice. I’ll give you the ingredients and the recipe and any other information I feel is important for your consumption. Don’t expect nutrition facts because Saturday is usually my cheat day unless we specially request a healthy meal. My mom is Diabetic so it may be some motivation for her to cook more heart healthy selections. And without further ado here is the first entry for…

	In the Kitchen with Sandra

Mom’s Mozzarella Meatballs

Ingredients                                                                              glass casserole dish

1 pound lean ground beef                                                       non-stick frying pan

3 oz. fresh mozzarella

2 cups pasta sauce of your choice (Classico- tomato with Basil)

1 pinch of Oregano

1 pinch of garlic powder

1 pinch of onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions

Always remember to wash your hands before preparing any meal. (We don’t want to spread the germies!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put olive oil in frying pan over medium-high heat

Cut mozzarella into ½ inch to one inch squares

In a large mixing bowl mash all seasonings into the ground meat until well mixed

Pull away enough ground beef for a medium to large size meatball- you want the meatball to be large enough to contain the cheese without it melting out in the process

Once you've formed a ball, press your thumb into the center of the raw meat to create a nest for the cheese. Insert the cheese square and fold the meat over to roll it back into a ball. **

Slightly brown the meatballs and place them in the casserole dish

When you have put all your meat in the cooking dish cover completely with sauce

Cover your dish with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 20 minutes depending on the size of your meatball. If you made them large it may take a little longer to cook thoroughly

Serve with pasta of your choice. My mom loves angel hair pasta but I’m into the whole wheat ziti myself. I’m also a big fan of my mom’s Parmesan meatballs, but these babies did turn out to be quite delicious! Try it!  Let me know how you like it. And also if you have any suggestions for recipes just send me an email.

Time to eat y'all! (Paula Deen voice)