I tried Giada De Laurentiis' 30-minute pasta dish. My family couldn't get enough of the meatballs stuffed with cheese.

• 1 14-ounce can of tomatoes, crushed by hand 
• 6 ounces of pancetta, diced 
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• ½ cup of pecorino Romano cheese, grated 
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil 
• ½ teaspoon of kosher salt 
• ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper 
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 

You’ll also need ground beef, Italian-style breadcrumbs, and mozzarella for the meatballs.

The meatballs were juicy, moist, and tender — the perfect texture — and packed with tons of flavor. Both cheeses worked really well as a stuffing, and everyone in the family had a different favorite. I’d love to make these again with smoked mozzarella, but you could try this with so many different cheeses. 

I thought De Laurentiis’ bucatini noodles were well-made and had a lovely taste, but I wish the sauce had more oomph. I had thrown in two extra ounces of pancetta, which we realized made the sauce just a tad too salty. Next time, I’d also make the sauce thicker and add some red wine or cream to give it more flavor. Bucatini is the perfect vehicle to carry a thick red sauce, and I just wanted more from the All’Amatriciana. 

But De Laurentiis’ meatballs truly blew my family away. I know we’re going to be making them over and over again.