Barbecued Meatballs

Okay, I will admit this doesn't look that good, but I swear they were amazing! I need to work on my picture taking skills...

My friends were having a Super Bowl party and since I couldn't care less about football (to be honest I didn't even know what the teams were...) I decided to utilize my trusty Crock Pot to make one of my favorite appetizers, MEATBALLS!! Okay so some people were confused and asked WHERE'S THE SPAGHETTI?? These people have obviously not been going to the right parties. A perfectly made barbecued meatball is difficult to do, but in the Crock Pot anything is possible, really! (Okay maybe not... but I figured I'd give it a try.)

I got the recipe from this Crock Pot cookbook. My aunt sent it to me and so far it has not done me wrong! Plus there are TONS of pictures, which is a deal maker for me when it comes to cookbooks. Its under the "Game Day Munchies" tab (yes, tabs!!) so it really was the perfect thing to make for Super Bowl Sunday.

The recipe has a few steps, but nothing too hard to manage. First off, here are the ingredients (minus the ground beef):

First you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then you combine the ground beef, 1/3 cup ketchup, bread crumbs, onion flakes, garlic salt and black pepper in a bowl. I did some substituting here. I didn't have onion flakes so I used a fresh onion instead. The best part about onions is the crunch so I might've done that even if I did have onion flakes. I also did not have garlic salt so I used a very scientific rendering of garlic salt. I used garlic powder and put a little salt in to substitue. You mix this all up with your hands and then shape into 1 inch meatballs. 

I placed the meatballs in 2 pans and baked for 18 minutes, then put them into my Crock Pot.

Steamy!

Now for the sauce! I mixed 1 cup ketchup, brown sugar, tomato paste, soy sauce, and vinegar in a bowl. The recipe called for hot pepper sauce but I don't like spicy things so I omitted it. 

Pour it over the meatballs, cover, and cook on low for 4 hours and then they will be ready! 

Finished product!

These meatballs were SO GOOD and a such a hit at the party! One of my friends was eating them by the spoonful out of a bowl. They were gone really quick so in the future I might double the recipe. They were also a bit crumbly, especially the ones that were at the bottom but overall they were amazing. 

Rebecca and Marcela LOVED THEM! Look how happy they are!

Recipe from Crock Pot Recipe Collection

Ingredients: 

• 2 pounds 95% lean ground beef
• 1 1/3 cups ketchup, divided
• 3 tablespoons seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes (or fresh if you have it!) 
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt (or garlic powder + salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce 
• diced bell peppers (optional to garnish with after cooking) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ground beef, 1/3 cup ketchup, bread crumbs, egg, onion flakes, garlic salt and black pepper in medium bowl. Mix lightly but thoroughly; shape into 1-inch meatballs.
2. Place meatballs in 2 jelly roll pans or shallow roasting pans (or whatever you have). Bake 18 minutes or until browned. Transfer meatballs to Crock Pot slow cooker.
3. Mix remaining 1 cup ketchup, sugar, tomato paste, soy sauce, vinegar and hot pepper sauce in medium bowl. Pour over meatballs. Cover, cook on LOW 4 hours. Serve with cocktail picks. Garnish with diced bell peppers if desired. 

Makes 4 dozen meatballs.