Sweet & Zesty Meatballs

These are a great recipe for a potluck or buffet.
I always make too much on purpose because the leftovers freeze so well.
MEATBALLS*
2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, finely minced
1/2 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
1 teaspoon minced garlic from the jar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 jumbo egg, beaten
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients and blend well.
  • Shape into 1 inch balls.
  • Place meatballs on un-greased cookie sheet.
  • Bake 25-30 minutes until browned and baked through.
  • For frozen meatballs, put the sauce in the crock pot first and then stir in frozen meatballs. They'll be ready in 3-4 hours.
*I sometimes cheat and buy the bags of meatballs from Costco or Sam's Club

SAUCE
3/4 cup Welch's grape jelly
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 3/4 cups Heinz chili sauce
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin slivers
  • In a large saucepan combine jelly, chili sauce and vinegar.
  • Bring to a soft boil and simmer 5 minutes stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
  • Layer meatballs, peppers and spicy sauce in crock pot.
  • Warm meatballs in sauce for 3-4 hours before serving.
You can put all the leftovers in the freezer together. Be sure to thaw them thoroughly before reheating.

3 comments:

Krystal said...

Those sound so good! Especially the sauce. We don't really do meatballs here, but I'll be trying these for a party! :)

Thanks for linking them up to Saturday's Party!

-krystal @ recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

Lisa said...

I've eaten these before and thought they were really good. This is definitely a good recipe to have on hand for a party. By the way, I'm having a CSN giveaway on my blog and you're welcome to come by and enter. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2010/11/45-csn-giveaway.html

Martha (MM) said...

Great for Tailgating Time this week! I make these too and sometimes even just use the frozen meatballs, makes it super simple :-)