Aunt Helen's Meatballs

Remember when I gave you a sneak peek at this recipe here? Well, here's the recipe now. I honestly don't have a better name for it besides 'Aunt Helen's Meatballs' because that's what they're known as in my family. The recipe came from my Aunt Helen and they are affectionately referred to as hers. I can't just make up another name for them. Unless you really want me to. I'm not good at this kind of thing. Any suggestions? Cranberry meatballs?

Now, just a note, these aren't the kind of meatballs you would serve with spaghetti. Well, you could. But I'm sure it'd be weird. You'll understand when we get to the ingredients. 

INGREDIENTS

For Meat:

• 2 pounds ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 chopped onion (if I'm the one making them, I omit this because, as you've read before, onions make me sick. I'll usually put a little onion powder in it)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp pepper

 For Sauce:

• 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
• 12 ounce bottle of chilli sauce
• 2 TBS brown sugar
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix meat ingredients together and form into small to medium sized balls (one inch/bite-sized). Place meatballs on a rack (I use a cooling rack such as the ones for cakes and cookies) inside a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until done; approximately 15-20 minutes. Transfer the meatballs into a crock pot.

2. Mix sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan (I usually cook it over medium heat to help mix in the cranberry sauce). Pour sauce over ingredients.

This recipe can be made the day before and be reheated in the crock pot. This is what I always do. I transfer the ingredients into the crock pot and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The sauce really absorbs into the meatballs this way. Then I heat it up in the crock pot for a couple hours until serving.

This recipe makes approximately 50 meatballs.

I am linking this recipe up at these great parties!