Meatballs in sweet tomato sauce

Ahh…a new success story. You could make these as an appie, or serve them as part of a meal. Last night Simone’s school hosted their Winter Party so I made this as it was the easiest/most low maintenance appie I could think of that she would eat, other kids would eat, parents might enjoy (but not my priority) and all ingredients could easily be found at home and didn’t involve packing up a screaming baby to visit the grocery store.

The result? Well, Simone ate 5 meatballs BEFORE we even went to the party and the rest were devoured pretty damn fast. I have no idea how this dish tastes because I don’t eat red meat, but I’m going to assume it’s blog-worthy.  ;)  P.S. Please don’t tell my kid that I don’t eat red meat, she has no idea and I’m thrilled that she’s become such a carnivore.

Meatballs in sweet tomato sauce

1 can medium size tomato sauce (any brand; I often use Safeway’s no salt added Eating Right brand)

1/4 Heinz chili sauce (this is actually sweet, not spicey)

1/4 brown sugar (loosely packed)

Sprinkle of dried herbs: oregano & basil

Ikea frozen meatballs (as many as you like in the sauce)

Directions:

I put all of the above in the crock pot and kept it on low for a couple hours, then “keep warm” for the rest of the afternoon until serving. I always have a bag of Ikea meatballs in our freezer so I just put in as many as I wanted (25′ish) to ensure they were all well-coated in sauce and there was enough sauce to keep them nice and moist. I forgot to add the dried spices yet the meatballs still seemed to win over my pickiest critic. Sometimes if Simone sees herbs in her food she screams, “VEGETABLE! THERE’S A VEGETABLE IN HERE”, as though she’s spotted a human finger in her meal.

Seriously, it makes my head spin when she does this.

“It’s not a bloody vegetable it’s a herb. And it’s dried. And it’s microscopic. Get over it.”

Ok, rant over. We cut the meatballs in half before transferring to a casserole dish for serving as they are big and shoving an entire meatball in your mouth at a party is at best, awkward and messy.

Easy-peasy done! Try it out for your next, “oh damn another potluck” party this holiday season!