So, this weekend I made my first homemade meatballs. I winged it. My husband has a “secret” recipe for burgers where he takes ground venison, Italian bread crumbs, one egg, and some seasoning and mixes it all together to make yummy burgers. Well, I made him mix the meat like he does for the burgers and proceeded to make meatballs.
First, I took out two cookie sheets and sprayed them with non-stick baking spray and rolled the meat into little balls and placed them on the cookies sheets. I baked them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. I opened one up to make sure it was cooked, and accidentally dropped it on the floor. So my dog got a little treat … a very hot treat, but a little treat nonetheless. I’m pretty sure my little dog burnt her tongue.
Once the meatballs where cooked I put them in a cooking pot, and we added (I had a friend over helping) half a jar of grape jelly and a jar of chili sauce. Okay, now some of you might be a bit confused by the grape jelly part, but for someone like me who doesn’t like BBQ sauce (I know what you’re thinking … how can a Midwest girl like me NOT like BBQ?! I can’t explain it myself, it’s an enigma) this sauce is a wonderful alternative. It has a tangy sweetness to it that is absolutely refreshing. You don’t taste grape jelly, somehow it mixes in nicely with the chili sauce. We cooked on medium heat for roughly 20 minutes, I didn’t really time it. Until it was cooked down nicely and was a smooth mahogany mix cooking the newly made meatballs.
And Wa-la!! Meatballs even a non BBQ fan can love!! It was absolutely delicious. My husband tried it and continued to say, “I can’t believe that’s grape jelly!”
I suggest you give both homemade meatballs and the grape jelly/chili sauce a try. Turned into a great home cooked lunch for us, and I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
