This is a recipe that you can throw together the night before and stick it in the crockpot warmer before you go off to work.  Summer sports are in full swing here, so that means we are running about 7 days a week.  Our nights are a mad dash to change the kids into their uniforms, throw food at them and get them out the door in time.  For this recipe, you can feed them some meatballs to calm their hunger before their game/practice and finish it off with some cooked pasta when you get home.  If it is a practice night where I can leave them there, I make the pasta, put it in the crockpot and cover with some parmesan before I go get the child.  It is all ready to be devoured when they get home.

This can be quite rich, so make sure you have a glass of wine with it, if you are legal drinking age. 😉

Recipe:
1 lb Italian sausage
1 lb hamburger
2 eggs
4 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed with a garlic press
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used panko)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 parmesan cheese
cubes of mozzarella (about 1 ball fresh mozzarella)

1 jar pasta sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Pasta, prepared

So…basically put anything you want into your meatballs and sauce that you like.  The seasonings above are just a guide, since I tend to buy tons of seasonings and go to town.

First, get out your crockpot and mix the sauces together.  Give it a taste and adjust to your liking.  I usually rinse out the cans and jars with a little water and throw that in the pot, too.  Depending on how hot your crockpot cooks, you may need the extra liquid.

Next, mix up the meatball ingredients, reserving the cubed mozzarella.  Once the meat is all mixed up, take about a 1/3 cup of the mixture and flatten it out in your palm.  Put a piece of mozzarella in the middle and form the meat around it.  Roll it in your hand to press it all together and form a ball. Place in the sauce.  Now do this with all of your mozzarella and meat.  Move them around, so everything has a bit of sauce on it.

When ready, you can put this in the refrigerator overnight and pop it into the basin in the morning, turning it on low.   It doesn’t need to sit overnight, so you can get to cooking it right away, too.

After cooking away all day, they will be done and ready to be eaten!  Like I said above, the kids can eat a few before practice and then afterwards you can mix in some pasta for dinner.  Alternatively, you can make meatball subs with them, too.  Or serve over polenta.  Or eat with some garlic bread and a salad.  Just eat them.  They are SOOOOOO good.