Homemade Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This recipe is one that my mother always made when I was growing up. Its ingredients sound kind of weird at first but I'm here to tell you, it's a wonderful dish. For me, it's a comfort food and one I make often! Today, my family enjoys this homemade dish at least once per month and sometimes more often than that. It is especially good in the winter months as it is hearty and filling.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef (you could use ground turkey but I always use lean ground beef for this even though I use ground turkey for many other dishes)

½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg

A few shakes of onion powderSauce

1 jar Heinz Chili sauce (about 12 oz) -find it in the aisle with ketchup

1 jar (about 15 oz) of grape jelly

Splash of vinegarProcedure:

1.Preheat oven to 350.

2.Mix all of the meatball ingredients together well. Use your hands to make sure everything is well combined.

3.Then, again using your hands, take hunks of meat and roll into balls so that they are about 1 inch around. You should press the meat together before forming ball so that it sticks together well.

4.Place the meatballs on a broiler pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until meatballs are done. I always cut one meatball in half to make sure that the middle has no pink left in it.

5.Put the cooked meatballs into a Dutch oven pot and add the chili sauce, grape jelly, and a splash of vinegar. Heat over medium heat stirring often.

6.Once jelly is melted and ingredients are combined, simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes. You can simmer even longer for even better flavor but 30 minutes is sufficient.Tips:

1.This recipe feeds my family of 4 with no leftovers. Double the recipe for a bigger family or to have left-overs for a second meal. It's great for lunch!

2.I often make this in the crockpot. Place cooked meatballs in the crockpot with the chilli sauce, jelly, and vinegar and cook on low all day (8-10 hours). You'll come home to a perfectly cooked, delicious meal.

Serve the meatballs and sauce with plain white rice. The sauce tastes really nice over the rice.

A green salad makes a nice side and makes the meal complete with vegetables!

This wouldn't be homemade but in a pinch, you could use pre-made, frozen meatballs with the same sauce. I have done this exactly once and it's not quite as good but it did hit the spot when I was short on time and craving this dish.