Sunday September 29, 2013
Tasty Appetizer and Easy Weeknight Meal!
Hey ,
Earlier this week on the Cook-a-Palooza Facebook page I hinted there’s a little gem of a recipe on the blog that’s often missed. And when I serve them to guests as an appetizer I’m often asked…“is this recipe in your cookbook?"
Sadly I have to tell them no.
And I don’t send people to the blog to find it because the picture is lame and the post I wrote is no great shakes.
Despite that, the Sweet & Saucy Meatball recipe I have for you today never fails to please!
Guests love them as an appetizer! They're also a favorite of mine for an easy weeknight dinner.
MEATBALLS? AN EASY MEAL?
Now rolling meatballs may not sound like the fastest way to put together a quick dinner. But consider this; it takes around 5 to 10 seconds to roll one. In 5 minutes you can have around thirty meatballs ready to be cooked!
As for making the meat mixture, it’s straight forward. Just be sure not to over mix it or you'll end up with tough meatballs. And if you happen to feel the urge to omit the ginger, I suggest you ignore it. It add nice flavor to the meat!
THE SECRET IS THE SAUCE!
Here’s what you’ll need…
Chili sauce, grape jelly and soy sauce.
Yeah, that’s it. It’s almost too simple to be tasty. The chili sauce I use is not hot. It's the type Heinz makes which is mild.
HOW TO COOK
This is where I've changed my approach since I posted this recipe on the blog.
I used to fry them in oil first but I rarely do that anymore. Frying boosts the flavor (and adds texture) to the meatballs but it takes time. It’s far easier to skip that step and send them straight into a slow cooker to cook in the sauce.
Plus there’s less mess to clean-up afterward and far less cooking supervision required.
Serve over a hot bed of Jasmine or Basmati rice, add some microwaved veggies on the side and you have one unexpectedly easy, and GOOD, weeknight meal!
Thanks for reading! And if you like this recipe, feel free to let your Facebook friends know by liking this!
As always you can write back to me directly via email if you have a question about this recipe.
I’ll see you in a couple weeks!
Cheers!
Brent - brent@cookapalooza.com
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Sweet and Saucy Meatballs
MAKES: 20 to 25 meatballs
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1 cup tomato-based chili sauce
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1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
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½ cup grape jelly
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1 lb (454 g) lean ground beef
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¼ cup each dry unseasoned breadcrumbs and minced onions
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
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1 egg, beaten
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¼ tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
In a slow cooker, whisk together chili sauce, soy sauce and grape jelly.
In a large bowl, using your fingertips, combine beef, breadcrumbs, onions, garlic, ginger, egg, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Form meat mixture into equal sized 1-inch meatballs.
Place meatballs in slow cooker and coat with sauce. Cover with lid and cook on the HIGH setting for 2 hours or LOW setting for 4 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.
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