Dinner: Italian Sausage & Pepperjack Meatballs

Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. Ground Beef
1 1/2 Hot Italian Sausages
1 Cup Alfredo Sauce
1/3 Cup Crushed Pork Rinds
5 Slices Pepperjack Cheese
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. Kosher Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. Add your pork rinds (about 1/3 of a bag) to the food processor.
3. Pulse the pork rinds until they are crushed completely. We will be using these to bind the meatballs together.
4. Break apart your Italian sausage, making sure every piece is small. Sausage normally has some fat connecting together inside, so you want to tear through that so the mixture will be even.
5. Place your Italian sausage in a large mixing bowl.
6. Add your ground beef to the mixture. Don’t touch it just yet.
7. Add your crushed pork rinds on top of the ground beef.
8. If you’re using cheese slices then tear each one into quarters. For each of those quarters, quarter them again like below. If you’re using a wedge of cheese, cut 3/4 inch cubes out of it to use in the middle of each meatball.
9. Measure out your oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and eggs. Add them to the ground beef mixture – this is where the fun begins.
10. Mix everything together well using your hands. This is going to get messy, but it’s fine.
11. Grab about 2/3 the meat you want per meatball and form a semi circle with it. Place your cheese stack in the middle.
12. Add the rest of your meat to the top and form into a ball, making sure all of it is sealed off.
13. Place your meatballs into a baking tray. Some grease and cheese will seep out of the meatballs so spread them apart a little bit, as you don’t want them to get stuck together.
14. Cook them in the oven for 45-50 minutes. It may need longer if you made larger meatballs.
15. Let them cool for 5 minutes or so, and remove them from the grease filled tray.
16. Serve with Alfredo sauce on each!