Kim's Party Meatballs

Hello there! It's party time around town. Football season is upon us! Lots of tailgating and parties to be had. I, myself am not a fan of football. But, I would love to cater a hungry group of people for a tailgating party! Tonight I have a perfect recipe for that football party, or any party! Kim's Party Meatballs go well with ANY occasion. I have made them many times for baby showers and family get-togethers. And they are a hit! They always disappear quickly. (I think my sister stows them in her purse to take home :)

These meatballs are moist and meaty and are so easy to make up! Here they are! Make sure you take a look at my tips at the end of the recipe! Enjoy!

Kim's Party Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

2 lbs. Ground Chuck

2 Eggs

1/3 C. Milk

2/3 C. Italian-Style Bread Crumbs

1/2 Small Onion, minced

1 1/2 tsp. Course Kosher Salt (or plain salt is fine too, 1 tsp. if using)

1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. Oil (for oiling the baking pan)

Cooking Spray (optional)

Sauce:

1 (12 oz.) Bottle of Chili Sauce

14 oz. Grape Jelly

Directions:

1. Gather your ingredients and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mince half of your onion. You can always save the other half in a sandwich bag in the fridge for another use. Or you can use dried minced onions in place of fresh (use 2 Tbsp.)

3. Grab yourself a large mixing bowl and add all of the ingredients for the meatballs. This includes: Ground Chuck, Eggs, Milk, Bread Crumbs, Onion, Salt, and Pepper.

4. Mix all of these ingredients together. There is only one way to do this correctly: with your hands!! :) (Make sure you wash your hands first!!)  Get right in there and mix it up until all of the ingredients are incorporated. (You may use food-grade gloves if you would like.)

5. Wash your hands and take a shallow baking sheet (a cookie sheet works fine) and lay out a piece of aluminum foil onto it. Then take a paper towel and a little oil  and rub it over the pan to avoid sticking.

6. Once your mixture is complete, and you have prepared your pan, grab yourself a rounded Tablespoon measure. Use this to get the meat out of the bowl. This will help your meatballs to be uniform in size, and it is the perfect size for a meatball. If you do not have a rounded Tablespoon, you can use just a regular spoon. 

7. Once you have the meat in the spoon, tap it out into your other hand and begin to lightly roll it between your hands until and small ball is formed. Once you get the hang of it, they will come together very quickly. Although, it will seem like you have a never-ending bowl of meat! Just keep scooping and rolling until all of your balls are formed. You can spray your spoon every now and then with the cooking spray so the meat will dispense easier into your hands. 

8. Place all of your meatballs onto your pan as you make them. I had 52 meatballs out of my mixture. When finished, wash your hands and place them in the oven. Set your timer for 30 minutes. You will want to turn them half-way through cooking to achieve even browning. 

 8. Meanwhile, you can get busy on the super easy and delicious sauce. Get a medium-sized sauce pan and mix together the whole bottle of chili sauce and the 14 oz. of grape jelly over medium-low heat. I used my own homemade grape jelly, but any store bought brand will do fine.

9. Cook this mixture, stirring frequently, until the jelly has dissolved. Once it has dissolved, turn your heat to low until the meatballs are done. Make sure you stir frequently, you do not want this to stick!

10. Once the meatballs are done, you can mix them together with the sauce you made on the stove OR put them into a crock pot and pour the sauce on top of the meatballs. For the stove-top, let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for about 15-20 minutes. I recommend the crock pot method, as the flavors meld together better for me. You can turn them on low or warm for hours. This is great if you make them the morning before serving. They will be perfect when party-time comes around. Serve and enjoy!!

Tips for Meatballs:

~ In step 8, you can cool the meatballs when they have finished cooking and place the whole pan into your freezer until they are frozen solid. Place the frozen meatballs in a freezer-safe zip-bag and you will have them ready to re-heat whenever you need them! Re-heat on the stove or in sauces or in the oven (at 350 for 20 minutes).

~ You can use these meatballs with ANY sauce. They are very versatile and will go with anything.

~ You can use pre-made meatballs with this sauce. Just follow the directions on the package for cooking. Then, follow directions 8-10 to finish.

~ If your meatball mixture is too wet, use a little more breadcrumbs. If it is too dry, use a little extra milk. Just add either ingredient until you have reached the consistency you desire.