One of my more favorite recipes here is one that is about two years old now. It's a tried and true recipe that I've kept in my back pocket and used numerous times over the years. With Halloween getting closer and closer, I decided to take that recipe out, dust it off, and give it a good scary once over.

A while back now, I had heard of these wonderful cheese stuffed meatballs and just knew that it was something that I had to give a try. So, I thought what better time than now? To make these meatballs even more scary good, I used both ground meat and hot sausage to give that nice little bit of heat. I also wanted to keep the vampires at bay, so I was sure to make the sauce garlicky.

I was able to find some special black rice noodles to serve my scary meatballs over for that extra spooky Halloween touch. But, regular spaghetti noodles would work just the same - or whatever else you wanted to use; spaghetti squash, or even as sliders!

I kept these meatballs lighter by using extra lean turkey meat and hot Italian sausage, along with fat free mozzarella as the filling cheese. Honestly, I loved the fact that these meatballs were stuffed. I mean, who doesn't love ooey-gooey cheese coming out of the center of their meatball? Sounds like a perfect work to me.

These are definitely an impressive and lighter choice for meatballs that are sure to impress. Plus, they take little prep, maybe 10 minutes or so just for the vegetable chopping and forming the meatballs.

My parents happened to stop by for dinner, and my mom even ended up taking some of these leftovers home for lunch tomorrow - even after her initial worry over the black rice noodles, which she ended up enjoying a lot!

Scary Good Stuffed Meatballs & Garlicky Sauce (Crock Pot)
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 20 • Size: 2 Meatballs + 1/4 C. Sauce • Calories: 173.2 • Fat: 3.9 g • Carb: 14.4 g • Fiber: 2.8 g • Protein: 19.6 g • Sugar: 3.4 g • Sodium: 436.4 mg

Ingredients:
Meatballs:
1 Lb. Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast
1/4 Lb. Hot Turkey Sausage
1/4 C. Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs
1/4 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 C. White Onion, Minced
1 Large Egg White
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 1/2 Tsp. Dried Parsley
2 1/2 Tsp. Dried Basil
4 Oz. Low Moisture Fat Free Mozzarella, Cut into 20 Cubes

Garlicky Sauce:
3/4 C. White Onion, Chopped
7 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Tsp. Extra Virgin Olive OIl
28 Oz. Crushed Tomatoes
28 Oz.  'No Salt Added' Whole Peeled Tomatoes
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 Tsp. Dried Parsley
1 Tsp. Dried Basil
1 Bayleaf
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:

In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion and garlic for the sauce. 

Once the onions are tender and translucent, transfer to the crock pot along with the remaining ingredients for the sauce and give it all a good stir!

In a medium bowl, mix together all of the meatball ingredients (except for the cheese) until well combined.

Using roughly 2 tbsp. of the meat mixture at a time, form into rounded meatballs.

Stuff each meatball with one of the mozzarella cubes.

Carefully place into the crock pot with the sauce.

Be sure that the cheese is completely covered with the meat mixture to avoid as much cheese leakage as possible. Some of the cheese may ooze out during the cooking process, but mine was very minimal.

Secure the lid, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

Once done, divide evenly and enjoy right away!