CHEESE STUFFED MEATBALLS CROCK POT RECIPES

Steps:

• Place frozen meatballs into a slow cooker. Add cranberry sauce, chili sauce, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Stir to distribute sauce evenly over meatballs.
• Cook on High until meatballs are completely thawed and hot, about 3 hours.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, rice, onion, salt, pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire, half of the can of tomato sauce, and half of the can of diced tomatoes. Use gloved hands to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.
• Slice the tops off of the bell peppers and set aside. Remove the ribs and seeds from inside each bell pepper. You can either place the tops of the bell peppers back on them after stuffing (this will help retain the moisture and cook the rice) or chop the usable portion of the lids and add it to the meat/rice mixture.
• Arrange bell pepper “bowls” in the slow cooker.
• Fill each bell pepper with the meat/rice mixture. Try to keep as much of the stuffing tucked down inside the bell peppers (this will aid in the rice cooking more evenly.)
• Whisk together beef both and the remaining tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.
• Pour the broth mixture over the bell peppers.
• Cover and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or until the rice is cooked through. If possible, spoon the excess juices in the crockpot up and over the bell peppers, “basting” them every 30 minutes while cooking to keep moisture inside the peppers with the rice.
• Once the rice and meat mixture is cooked, place one slice of cheese over the top of each pepper. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
• Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• The meat mixture can be varied - the hot italian sausage makes these spicy and extra flavorful.
• If you would like to leave the stuffed peppers without basting, be sure there is no stuffed mixture above the rim of the bell pepper. You could also use quick-cooking rice or pre-cook the rice before adding it to the stuffing mixture.
• Serve with a side of sauce from the crockpot.