Note: Not sure where these photos have gone… I’m working on getting them back. 🙁
My family has been making these for as long as I can remember, and they are oh-so-good.
Add to that your hamburger, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, and chopped green chiles.
Mix that together really well. You don’t want clumps of bread crumbs so makes sure you have mixed things well.
Then cube your cheese. Jack cheese is best, unless you like a little spice -then go for pepper jack. 🙂
Take a small portion of the meat mixture and flaten in on the palm of your hand. Place one cube of cheese in the middle and fold the meat around the cheese -sealing it as you go. (The cheese will melt as you cook these, so you don’t want holes if you can help it.)
Line up the meatballs in a baking dishand cook in 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes. They may not be fully cooked at this point, so resist the temptation to eat one now.
Cover your meatballs with the sauce and put back in the over, set at 350 degrees, for 20-30 minutes, or until they are done. The sauce should be bubbly.
My favorite way to eat these is with this Dominican Republic Rice and Beans pictured here. I love the sauce with the melted cheese and how it sinks into the rice. Mmmmm. Buttered pasta would also be great!
Poor lighting and poor camera make for poor pictures… You’ll just have to make them for yourself to see how good they really are!! 😉
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3 pounds hamburger
- 3 Tbs chopped parsley
- 2 cans chopped green chilies
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- Approx. 16 oz of Jack Cheese (or pepper jack)
- Sauce: 1 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 2-3 cans diced tomatoes (15 oz size) Depends on how much sauce you want.
- 1 cup broth (any kind) or milk
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 can green chilies
Instructions
- Make the sauce first. Sauce: Saute onion and garlic over medium heat til onions start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add all remaining sauce ingredients and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Set aside until the meatballs are ready for the sauce.
- Meatballs:
- First off you mix your bread crumbs together with the milk -to let them soften. Add the hamburger, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, and chopped green chilies to the bread crumbs and milk mixture. Using your hands, mix that together really well. You don’t want clumps of bread crumbs so make sure
- everything is fully combined.
- Then cube your cheese in about 1/2 inch to 1 inch cubes.
- Take a small portion of the meat mixture and flatten in on the palm of your hand. (This recipe will make about 24 meatballs. You can portion your meat out if you want to know exactly how much to use on each meatball.) Place one cube of cheese in the middle and fold the meat around the cheese -sealing it as you go. The cheese will find places to leak out as it cooks and melts, so do your best.
- Line up the meatballs in a baking dish and cook in 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
- Cover your meatballs with the sauce and put back in the oven, set at 350 degrees, for 20-30 minutes, or until they are done. The sauce should be bubbly.
This makes about 24 meatballs. This dish freezes VERY well. Just get up to putting the sauce on the meatballs and then freeze them. When ready to eat just pop them back in the oven until heated all the way through, and sauce is bubbling. I usually make 1/2 with jack cheese for my kids and 1/2 with pepper jack cheese for us parents. Enjoy! Let me know how they turn out!
These are soooo good. They are even better the next day and they even freeze well. The sauce is really great over rice. A true family favorite.