Cheesy Meatballs with Couscous

Melbourne had been extremely HOT last week... We were suffering in the heat of 42-45°C for four continuous days. Some suburbs couldn't cope with the heat and had power failure for hours. Fortunately, ours was ok and we managed to stay cool in the house with sufficient air-conditioning.

Due to the weather, I tried not to cook or bake too much last week. Luckily, I had a portion of frozen meatballs that I had cooked before this heat wave... All I need to do was to re-heat these meatballs and prepare these couscous. Goodness me... These meatballs saved me!!

What is nicer? These life-saving meatballs have pleasant creamy surprises! ... resulting many slurps and thumbs up on our dining table...

This recipe is an accidental discovery that I saw at Kraft. I knew that these simple-looking meatballs made with cream cheese are going to be very surprisingly moist and delicious! Spot-on! ... I was totally right!

How did this discovery happened? It started at first when I had this odd amount of cream cheese (half package) as leftover. For some fussy reason, I wanted this leftover cream cheese to be used but can't decide how should I use it. Scratching my head, I thought of exploring Kraft recipes at its website to source any idea... Eureka! Happy that I found this fantastic recipe!

Cheesy Meatballs with Couscous

Ingredients to make these cheesy meatballs

Surprise that the cream cheese held itself very well when I cooked these cheesy meatballs

Ingredients that I used to make my own pasta sauce

Add salt and pepper to taste...

Return the meatballs into the sauce and allow them to simmer for 30 minutes...

Making couscous is always super easy!

Are you ready to have a bite of these cheesy meatballs? Munch...

"Hey! I might be simple-looking but I am surprisingly VERY delicious!"

Here is the recipe from Kraft
(with my modification in blue) 

1 lb ground pork
(replaced with 500g minced chicken)
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup Philadelphia 1/3 less fat than cream cheese
(I used the original non-fat-reduced one)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
(I used 1 medium onion)
1/4 cup finely chopped stuffed green olives
(I didn't add that)
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups marinara sauce
(I made my own pasta sauce, see below)
2 cups hot cooked couscou

Mix first 8 ingredients (excluding olives) until well blended; shape into 24 balls, using about 2 tbsp for each. - Based on this quantity, I have made 28 balls.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add meatballs; cook 5-6 min. or until evenly browned, turning occasionally. Add sauce (or cook sauce); simmer on medium-low heat 10-15 min or until meatballs are done. - I have cooked mine for 30 mins to cook the onions thoroughly. 

Please note that this recipe is very freezer-friendly. I have cooked this amount and managed to freeze half of this amount for subsequent dinners.

This is how I cooked my pasta sauce, adapting the recipe from Taste.com

40ml (2 tbs) olive oil
1 small onion, peeled, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
4-6 canned flat anchovy fillets, drained and roughly chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
410g can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
125ml chicken stock
60ml water

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over low heat until the onion is softened. Add
anchovies and cook for about 2-3 mins until fragrant. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, herbs and chicken stock and water. Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for 30 mins (with meatballs) until thick.

To make couscous:

Bring 1 cup chicken stock (or water), a pinch of dried Italian herbs and 1-2 tbsp olive oil to boil. Remove boiling stock from stove. Add 1 cup of couscous and allow mixture to sit for 5 mins to allow liquid to be fully absorbed. Use a fork to make the couscous fluffy.

Serve meatballs with couscous.

Happy Cooking
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