Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I think we all strive to be and do better in all aspects of our live. We celebrate the successes and at times mourn the failures.  It’s okay to take a few moments to beat ourselves up over our mistakes but we shouldn’t dwell on them. Instead, we need to learn from them so the next time (yes, you need to try again) you’ll do better, be better, and succeed.  This theory applies to all things in life.  At least, I believe that.  I am not great at several things, math being one but I haven’t let it stop me.  Of course, I’m also not looking for any math problems either.  Isn’t that what they make calculators for? Or the internet? Ha! Just kidding.  Maybe.  Seriously though, math is essential but evil.  Where am I going with this? No clue, just thought I’d share a little pep talk with you today.

On to the recipe for today! I love this one – it’s up there on the comfort foods list.  These sweet and sour meatballs are tender, perfectly seasoned, and cooked in a tangy sauce with bell peppers, onions, and pineapples.  Whether you serve this as a main dish over rice or as a wonderful appetizer on game day or at a potluck, it will quickly become a favorite.  I use my recipe for easy homemade meatballs for this recipe but you can just as easily use already cooked, frozen meatballs.  I like to make a double batch of the meatballs and freeze one batch so I always have a batch on hand.

The sauce for this recipe is from this wonderful site and I halved the ground beef but left the sauce ingredients the same.  I did this because my family loves sauces and skimping on this delicious sauce wasn’t allowed.  Definitely cut it in half if this isn’t the case with your family.  Or better yet – double the meatballs and make two smaller baking dishes of this recipe and freeze one for another meal.  This is also great in the crockpot! Just combine the sauce mixture and the cooked meatballs and place in your crockpot; cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Simple ingredients for these delicious meatballs.

I tend to use oatmeal as the binder in my meatballs but regular or Panko bread crumbs work well too.

The sauce is tangy but the brown sugar will give it that sweet that is needed.

Simple to assemble – place meatballs (uncooked) in lightly greased baking dish, pour over sauce and bake!

One hour later, dinner is done!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

These sweet and sour meatballs are tender, perfectly seasoned, and cooked in a tangy sauce with bell peppers, onions, and pineapples. Whether you serve this as a main dish over rice or as a wonderful appetizer on game day or at a potluck, it will quickly become a favorite.

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Author: Lisa Kerhin

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb lean ground beef I use Laura's Lean Ground Beef
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/2 cup oatmeal or Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 small onion minced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup diced fresh basil chiffionade the basil and then chop into smaller pieces

Sauce

• 1 cup chopped bell peppers red, yellow, orange and green
• 1 20 oz can pineapple chunks in juice including the juice
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 4 Tbls cider vinegar
• 4 Tbls Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.

For the Meatballs:

• Mix ingredients together and form into balls.
• Place in prepared baking dish.

For the Sauce:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, ketchup, water, cider vinegar, and Worchestershire sauce.
• Add the bell peppers, onion, and pineapple chunks and stir to combine.
• Pour over the meatballs.
• Bake for one hour uncovered. Serve over rice.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Mom on Timeout

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Enjoy!