cheesy, with a chance of meatballs

These meatballs were taaaaassssty!!  They were a perfect hearty meal for everyone from us adults right down to Miss 2, and the boys in between.  This recipe made a truckload of food (I reckon we could have easily fed 6-7 adults, so froze half of it for an easy meal another night.  Mr 4 really enjoyed helping to make and mix the meatball mixture too, so a good one for kids in the kitchen.  

500 g beef mince 

2 tbsp paprika/ground cumin/ground coriander etc - (I used a Louisiana Creole spice mix with those spices, plus onion and garlic)

1/2 tsp salt 

2 eggs 

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs 

1 tbsp tomato sauce 

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

grated cheese, to top

1 onion, finely diced 

1 tbsp spice mix used in meatballs 

1 tsp salt 

70 g tomato paste 

2 stalks celery, finely chopped 

1 cup green veges, finely chopped (we used some broccoli and bok choy)

1/2 cup red wine (or stock)

1/2 cup stock (beef, chicken, vege...) 

1 tomato, diced (I used a couple tbsp of relish instead)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

rice, to serve

1. Mix all meatball ingredients together, except cheese.  Set aside until needed (Mr 4 and I made these in the morning, covered the bowl and put them in the fridge for the day). 
2. When ready to get dinner going: roll meatballs and fry in large pan (one that can go under the grill, if possible) until browned all over but not cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside. 
3. Get rice cooking.  
4. Fry onion in pan.  Add spices, salt, tomato paste, veges and red wine.  Stir for about a minute, then add other sauce ingredients.  Add meatballs back to the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes (at this point you can either carry on, or remove from heat and set aside again, until you're almost ready to eat - so this can, up to this point, be prepared earlier in the day - you'd just need to gently heat through again later).  
5. Top with cheese and grill for 3-5 minutes, until browning and bubbling.  
6. Serve on rice with a dollop of sour cream.