Meatballs don’t take the sloppy out of sloppy Joes, they just turn it into a whole new form. Trust us—these little ones are just as delicious as the original ground beef version. Cheesy, hefty, and super-saucy, this skillet dish also comes together in just under an hour, making it the perfect anytime meal.
Besides being irresistibly tasty, this dish is also extremely versatile. Cook up these meatballs, then serve them in a variety of ways: Sandwich them into a hoagie roll for a saucy meatball sub, enjoy them right out of the skillet as an easy appetizer (think game day snacks!), or serve this bake as a main with fresh veggie sides.
Tip: It’s important to sear the meatballs first before cooking with the sauce to ensure they get crispy and are cooked through; otherwise, your meatballs might be undercooked or chance falling apart—you don’t want that! After cooking in your tomato-based sauce, you’ll broil with cheese until everything gets bubbly and golden. We chose mozzarella for our cheese of choice because of how melty and stretchy it gets, but feel free to add your favorite cheese. Cheddar or Monterey Jack would also be delicious here, as would pepper Jack if you wanted a kick of heat!
Looking for more sloppy Joe remixes? Try our sloppy quesadillas, stuffed peppers, and grilled cheese too.
Tried this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
A recent study found what could be the earliest known evidence of ancient cooking: the leftovers of a fish dinner from 780,000 years ago.
Cooking helped change our ancestors. It helped fuel our evolution and gave us bigger brains. Later, cooking would become central to the eating celebrations that brought communities together.
The new study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, is based on material from Gesher Benot Ya’aqov in Israel — a watery place near an ancient lake.
Ancient objects from the area suggest it was home to a community of Homo erectus, a kind of early human that walked upright, explained study lead writer Irit Zohar of Tel Aviv University.
Naama Goren-Inbar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem led the research digs. She said researchers found fish remains, especially teeth. Many of the teeth were from two different kinds of fish known as carp.
The remains were found near places where researchers also found signs of fire. Testing showed the teeth had been exposed to temperatures that were hot, but not super-hot. This suggests the fish were cooked low and slow, rather than being put right onto a fire, Zohar explained.
With all the evidence together, researchers concluded that these ancient human relatives had used fire for cooking some 780,000 years ago. That is much earlier than the next oldest evidence for cooking, about 170,000 years ago, which showed Stone Age humans ate cooked roots in South Africa.
This illustration provided by Tel Aviv University depicts hominins preparing Luciobarbus longiceps fish on the shores of the ancient lake Lake Hula. A recent study found the oldest evidence of using fire to cook, dating back to 780,000 years ago. (Ella Maru/Tel Aviv University via AP)
Cooking might have started even earlier
The researchers — like many other experts — believe cooking started long before this, even though physical evidence has been hard to find.
“I am sure that in the near future an earlier case will be reported,” study writer Israel Hershkovitz of Tel Aviv University said in an email.
That is in part because using fire for cooking was an important step in humans evolution.
Cooking food makes it easier for the body to digest and get nutrients, explained David Braun of George Washington University. Braun was not involved with the study. When early humans figured out how to cook, they were able to get more energy, which they could use to fuel bigger brains.
Based on how human ancestors’ brains and bodies developed, scientists estimate that cooking skills appeared nearly 2 million years ago.
“If we’re out there eating raw items, it is very difficult to make it as a large-bodied primates,” Braun said.
Those first cooked meals were far different from today’s food. And in the many, many years in between, humans started not just eating for fuel, but for community.
Cooking food to build community
In a 2010 study, led by Natalie Munro of the University of Connecticut, researchers described the earliest evidence of a feast. The feast was a specially prepared meal that people brought together for an event 12,000 years ago in a cave in Israel.
The cave, which served as a burial place, included the remains of one special woman who seemed to be a religious leader for her community, Munro said.
This “first feast” came at an important turning point in human history, right as hunter-gatherers were starting to settle into more permanent living situations, Munro said. Gathering for special meals may have been a way to build community and reduce tensions now that people live closer to each other, he said.
Munro said he believes ancient feasts are served a lot of the same social uses that modern gatherings serve: People exchange information, make connections, or try to improve their position.
“This is something that’s just quintessentially humans,” Munro said. “And to see the first evidence of it is exciting.”
I’m John Russell.
Maddie Burakoff wrote this story for The Associated Press. John Russell adapted the story for Learning English.
If you thought fondue belonged to the 1970s, think again! We’ve hauled this classic retro party into the 21st century by turning it into cheesy bite-sized party snacks, perfect for any festive occasion.
Traditionally, fondue features a blend of cheese melted with wine and a bit of cornstarch to create a dreamy dip. Our twist includes a blend of cheddar and Gruyère spiked with hard cider and Dijon mustard, which is baked inside a crispy little bread cup until it becomes a bubbling cheesy sauce. No skewers, no molten hot cheese dripping over everybody, and no cheese-encrusted slow cooker to clean out at the end of the night.
Read on for tips on these one-bite appetizers. Looking for more? Check out these fried mashed potato balls.
How do we make the crispy bread cups?
These little bread cups couldn’t be simpler. Start by rolling out sandwich bread until it’s super-thin, then cut out rounds and tuck them into greased mini muffin cups. A 10-minute bake in the oven dries out the bread, transforming it into sturdy little cups, perfect for holding that molten hot cheese.
How do I keep my cheese sauce from getting greasy?
Cheese sauces become greasy if they’re overheated, which causes the oils in the cheese to separate. To avoid this, we recommend removing the sauce from the heat before folding it in the cheese. The residual heat from the sauce should be enough to melt the cheese. If for some reason yours doesn’t melt completely, you can return the pot to low heat for 10-second bursts, stirring constantly, until it’s melted. This should add enough heat to melt the cheese without splitting the sauce.
Made these? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
