sunday meal share?: meatballs

I wanted so badly to include this recipe on my meal share that had party foods/snacks but this is not a dish that I ever randomly make for my family since there is simply TOO MUCH food. So, I feel like I somewhat dropped the ball on this one but there's still an opportunity to make it for any upcoming New Year's parties between work and home!

Meatballs! Does everyone have a recipe for meatballs? Yes. Are they all pretty much the same? Yes. Is this one going to fall into that generic category too? I don't like to think so! The recipe is uniquely generic in that it pulls ideas from a lot of recipes I frequently see and eat.

Cost effective: for a large Crock-Pot full will run you around $15.

Easy to concoct: totes.

Nutritious: if you only eat one or two, maybe.

Be prepared for some camera phone pictures because I was making this for my families Christmas Eve party and I didn't think to document until midway through preparation.

Here's what you'll need:

1 large bag of Italian meatballs

1½-2 cups brown sugar

1 jar of chili sauce (I always use Heinz)

1 can of jellied (or whole berry) cranberries

1 can of sauerkraut (rinsed and drained)

1 cup water

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the brown sugar, chili sauce, cranberries, sauerkraut, and water. I personally start by adding the cranberries first and mashing them up.

2. Add meatballs to Crock-Pot.

3. Pour sauce onto the meatballs. At this point it's difficult to mix even if you do a layer of meatballs then sauce, and then add the rest of the meatballs and sauce on top of that, so I usually wait until it's been cooking for a little while to do so.

4. Cook on high for 3 hours, or cook on low 5-6 hours.

5. Enjoy!

I have confidence that your party goers, coworkers, and children will enjoy this one. And if there are any sticklers in the audience that don't like sauerkraut, urge them to try it. I hate when people tell me: "well, you can't even taste the onion in this French onion soup!" Well, if you can't taste it, why in the hell put it in there?! With that being said, I don't think the sauerkraut necessarily adds flavor. It adds more texture. But who knows, maybe the sauerkraut flavor is apparent but I don't notice because I like sauerkraut. Please let me know!

Happy meatballidays!

Leia