Back quite a few weeks ago, my neighbors brought me over a little kale plant! It was very wilted and very scrawny, but I planted it immediately and began taking good care of it. Below is after just a week or two, and already it was 5x’s it’s original size!! It was loving it’s new home, but sure did hate the sun!
Every day I had to move it back and forth on the deck, because, even just 30 minutes in partial sun, and it would totally collapse flat as a pancake. I tried to give it some sun a little at a time, hoping to “harden” it, but it just didn’t want any part of it.
So I just continued to nurture and spoil it. So be it.
It ended up doing spectacularly in it’s little pot on the deck! In only maybe a month, it was huge!
I needed to start harvesting the leaves, so this “little plant that could”, became my inspiration for this recipe! 😀
My hubby is NOT a fan of kale, though I love it. I sneak it in every chance I get from mac ‘n cheese to replacing iceberg lettuce on a burger!
It’s extremely versatile, and this time, it was going to be a cozy blanket for some homemade meatballs!
They were going to need a bit more than just kale, though, so I decided to stuff them with fresh mozzarella before baking!
Don’t forget to pepper them before popping them into the oven! 😉
They smell heavenly baking, and my hubby was already drooling! I knew he wouldn’t put up too much of a fuss once he realized my evil plan… 😉
(Some of the cheese will leak out during baking. Don’t worry about it, just pile it right back up on top.)
So, I went out to the deck and gave my babied kale it’s first real haircut!
The leaves were just gorgeous!! Some type of flatter-leafed variety as compared to the frilled-edged kale that I was used to using from the store.
This was even better!
I removed the thickest end of the stem, then wrapped each meatball in a leaf like a package. (Same as you would do stuffed cabbage).
I poured a little spaghetti sauce onto the bottom of a pan, and tucked the pretty little packages in, snuggling closely.
They then received a nice topping of more sauce…..
….and nice big handfuls of mozzarella & provolone cheese!
Lastly, I sprinkled the top with a pinch each of garlic salt, italian seasoning and oregano!
And into the oven they went! 😀
They smelled H E A V E N L Y baking!!!
And look how pretty they turned out!
The kale was just slightly crisp-tender, not mushy like spinach, and made such a beautiful presentation on the table!
We enjoyed ours with some cooked pasta tossed in the extra sauce, a side salad, and a nicely toasted piece of garlic bread!
But you can serve these over a white, brown or wild rice pilaf, or even plain, buttered egg noodles. They can also stand by themselves and be enjoyed alongside some risotto, or even be served as an appetizer!
These really turned out delicious! I can’t wait to make other dishes from my still-ever-growing little kale plant! Hope you give these a try soon, too! I think you’ll really enjoy them! 😀
These are wonderful served with pasta, noodles, rice or alongside risotto.
Mozzarella-Stuffed Kale-Wrapped Meatballs
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
Rest of Ingredients:
Instructions
Notes
The rest of the sauce can be tossed with hot cooked pasta or frozen for a later use.
These also make nice appetizers!