Ingredients:
Sauce:
- 7 cups tomato pulp
- ⅓ cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp salt
Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef (lean)
- 1 lb spicy Italian sausage
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 4 mozzarella cheese sticks, divided into 4-5 even pieces
Instructions:
- Place all the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker and stir to combine
- Set the slow cooker to high and cover until your done preparing the meatballs (30 minutes should suffice).
- Mix all meatball ingredients excluding the mozzarella in a large bowl. Using your hands, work with the mass as if you were making pizza dough.
- Take a golf ball-sized piece of the beef mixture and place a piece of mozzarella in the center.
- Press the beef around the mozzarella piece until fully enclosed. Repeat until you run out of meat.
- Transfer the meatballs into the slow cooker and immerse in the sauce. Cover and continue cooking on high for up to 2 ½ hours.
