The girls and I went to an afternoon Christmas party on the last day before holidays. There were a ton of kids running around, decorating cookies, wreaking havoc, and generally falling all over everything. The joy of the looming holidays on their faces was wonderful.
Besides the aforementioned cookies there was also food. I hung out with friends in the crowded kitchen, wine in hand, and we all gorged on cheese and crackers and a killer warm brie (!). Much to my amusement, I watched as Sarah and Emma both discovered a slow-cooker full of tangy, saucy meatballs. They both approached the thing like a pair of wild cats; eyeballing it, hungry and unsure, wondering if something unpleasant was going to jump out at them. Happily they tried the meatballs and loved them. As any mom, I was VERY happy and excited that they discovered something new and actually liked it.
It wasn’t until after we created our List of Favourite Foods that I remembered to email Pam, the Meatball Maker, to ask her for the recipe. (It was very important I get my hands on a recipe that BOTH children loved so much.)
Her recipe was simple, more than that, so simple it sounded, well, a bit odd. But I followed her instructions and they turned out great. We ate them with a big salad and slices of fresh bread. I served the meatballs in small bowls and gave the girls a toothpick with which to eat them. (What is it with kids and toothpicks? Somehow it adds 100% to the Perceived Enjoyment Ratio.)
Without further ado, here is the recipe.
Pam’s Meatball Recipe
You will need:
- one box of frozen PC meatballs
- one jar of blackcurrent jam (she said you could also use grape jelly but that blackcurrent, is, you know, FANCIER!) ;)
- one jar of chili sauce
- 1) Bake meatballs according to directions on the package.
- 2) Combine jar of chili sauce and jam in a large pot. Simmer. (I personally found the sauce a little too tangy so I added a tablespoon of sugar. Maybe I’ll make it with less chili sauce next time.)
- 3) Once meatballs are cooked, add to sauce. You can also dump the whole thing into a slow cooker if you’re going to be serving it as an appetizer at a party or just to a crowd of crazed children and their exhausted parents. :)
- 4) Eat.
It’s so easy it’s embarrassing. But the kids loved it, and sometimes that’s all that matters to me. :)
Edited to add: I think I’ve finally nailed the perfect ratio of jam:sauce. I now make the recipe this way:
- One onion, diced
- One can of whole cranberries
- Approx. one cup of chili sauce (no name brand is fine)
I sauté the onion until softened before I add the other ingredients. Otherwise the rest of this “recipe” is the same. It gets eaten up EVERY TIME.
