Cocktail Meatballs

My friend is getting married, which means I get to try out new recipes for her bridal shower.  I didn't sign up right  away, which means that I end up with meatballs.  I have never attempted to make appetizer meatballs. I have only recently started cooking with beef in any form.  I was vegetarian for several years and then when I fell off the veggie wagon, I only ate poultry.  So, meatballs were a challenge.  My husband loves meatballs, so I have made some traditional Italian-style meatballs with pasta, but nothing like this.  I didn't want to make the ones with grape jelly, because I have heard people talk about how sick they are of those...I have yet to try one.  This recipe seemed like the best fit after quite a bit of research on allrecipes.com and foodnetwork.com.  I have to say, they turned out pretty well.  

The funny part is the story about how I confused the date of the shower which had me preparing these two weeks before the actual shower.  I hurried the research and rushed to the store to buy the ingredients because I thought I had to make them the night I found out I got meatballs.  I was starting to get stressed out because I also had work to do and dinner to prepare.  It was getting late.  My husband was great in that he was helping out throughout the process of making the meatballs themselves.  Just before putting them in the oven, a light-bulb went off in my head.  Hold on, the shower is not until May 1st, isn't it?  I check, and sure enough, I have prepared them way too early.  I decide to just throw them in the freezer without cooking them.  The rest of the preparation can wait until closer to the date of the shower.  

Fast forward to the week of the shower.  My two friends get engaged (to each other), and I throw them an engagement party on a Tuesday.  It was just a small, intimate gathering of friends which was quite nice.  I know on Monday that I have both the engagement party on Tuesday and the bridal shower on Wednesday, so what do I do?  Make the meatballs Monday, prep the sauce Monday night and then just combine the two parts on Wednesday.  I made this way more complicated than it had to be, but that's what I get for mixing up the date of the shower.

Anyway, I did get some compliments on this recipe, so I thought I would share it.  

Tweaks: I'm not sure what type of chili sauce is meant to go into this recipe, but I used only about 1/2 cup of the chili garlic sauce I found at the store by the sriracha sauce.  I was afraid they would be too spicy with the full 3/4 cup and I'm glad I did.  My football crew would probably be good with the while 3/4 cup, but I'm glad I cut back on this batch.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup bread crumbs

3 tablespoons minced onion

1 (8 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce

3/4 cup chili sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, water, bread crumbs, and minced onion. Roll into small meatballs.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.

4. In a slow cooker or large saucepan over low heat, blend the cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Add meatballs, and simmer for 1 hour before serving.