I use (partially thawed) frozen readymade meat balls, sautéed in hot skillet with a small amount of oil till browned, toss meatballs along with pre-simmered sauce into a Crockpot, cook on low until meatballs are done inside, and your good to go. Easy way to make 40 – 50 appetizers. Need them cooked faster? Simmer meatballs in the sauce on top of the stove until done in the middle, then keep warm in a Crockpot. Little Smokies links are great with any of these sauces. I prefer a less sweet sauce so I use the least sugar flavored jelly I can find. I have replaced some of the jelly with a teaspoon of jalapeño apple jelly and loved it. If you decide to use jalapeño jelly start with 1/4 teaspoon and taste test. It may be a little too hot for your taste if you don’t use it sparingly.
Easy & Delicious Sauce:
1 cup Heinz Chili Sauce
1/2 cup grape jelly
1/2 cup currant jelly
per lb meat balls
Jeff’s Favorite Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup grape jelly
12 ounces bottle (mild) chili or seafood sauce (Crosse & Blackwell is good)
10 ounces grape, apple, or other jelly ( ¼ to ½ tsp Hot Jalapeno jelly added to any of these, or a very small pinch of cracked red pepper added at the end of the cooking.)
Cranberry Sauce:
1 (16-ounce) can cranberry sauce
1 (12-ounce) can chili sauce
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Spicy Cranberry Sauce:
2 (1-pound) bags frozen cocktail-size meatballs (about 64 meatballs)
1 (16-ounce) can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups pineapple juice
1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and sliced
Heat oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs evenly. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
In a large saucepan, combine 4 tablespoons cornstarch, soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, brown sugar and pineapple juice. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
Add the meatballs, pineapple chunks, sliced onion and green peppers. Cook
for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated
TO COOK IN A CROCKPOT:
Place prepared and sautéed meatballs in Crockpot. Heat and stir sauce on top of stove, pour over meatballs and cook on low setting for 2-4 hours or until meatballs are done in the middle. Cooking time depends on how many meatballs are in the Crockpot; and how frozen they were when placed in Crockpot.
TO COOK IN A SKILLET:
Heat 1 Tb salad oil in a large skillet, cook the meatballs over medium heat until brown, about 20 minutes. Drain off excess fat.
TO COOK IN THE OVEN:
Place the meatballs in a lightly greased baking pan or cookie sheet. Bake, uncovered, in a 400 degree F. oven until light brown, about 20 minutes. Drain off the excess fat.
FOR THE SAUCE:
In a large pot, heat the sauce ingredients to boiling. Simmer uncovered, until the sauce thickens.
Add the meatballs, cover and simmer a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are glazed. Your sauce should be thick and meatballs coated with the sauce.
Keep hot in a crock pot!