Saucy Meatballs
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Prep time | 10 min |
| Cook time | 1 hr or 3 hrs (baking or crockpot) |
| Source | Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog |
| Yield / serves | 6-8 servings |
| Rating | Very good |
We cheated and used pre-made meatballs, and just through the sauce and meatballs (still frozen) into the crockpot for a few hours.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 3/4 cup quick oats
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons finely minced onion
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (for coating meatballs)
- Canola oil
Sauce
- 12 oz. jar of cocktail sauce
- 1 can whole cranberry sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
Preparation
For the meatballs: preheat the oven to 350°. Combine all the meatball ingredients (except the oil and flour). Roll into medium-small balls (about the size of a ping pong ball – if you want specifics) and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in the freezer for five minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour. Heat 1/3 cup canola oil in a large skillet. When oil is hot, add meatballs and brown on all sides (but don’t cook through). Place the meatballs in a single layer in a 9x13-inch baking dish and make the sauce.
For the sauce: combine the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook in the oven for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through to coat the meatballs in the sauce. Serve with toothpicks.
Note: Alternately, you can make the meatballs the day beforehand (including cooking them by themselves in the 9x13-inch pan) and then the next day, place the meatballs and heated sauce in the crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours to heat through.
