Dishes using Meat balls?

[DeniseM]

DH just brought home a big bag of large frozen meat balls. Besides pasta, what are some other ways I can use them?

THANKS!

 

[nightnurse613]

Heat em up, get some toothpicks, throw in a little BBQ sauce and have appetizers! Get some of your favorite french bread, marinara and mozarella cheese and have a meat ball sandwich for the office!

 

[Kelsie]

Denise, I know you are going to wrinkle your nose as I did when someone gave me this recipe but I have had 2 more requests for this dish since I made it for our Christmas Eve Open House. Being Italian descent I have always made my own meatballs and we had plenty of food CE. The one dish that was totally gone was the following one:

2 lbs. of 5/8" frozen meatballs
1 1/2 cups grape jelly
2 bottles 10.5 oz chili sauce
dash cayenne pepper



melt jelly in saucepan
empty meatballs (I made 75 small ones) in crockpot
pour jelly, chili sauce & pepper over meatballs--stir to cover meatballs

Cover, cook on high until boiling, put on low and cook 2 1/2 more hrs.

Denise, I would slice your meatballs in half after they have cooked to absorb the sauce. I didn't have one meatball left. The sauce was a sweet/sour sauce, my guests were dipping Italian bread in the leftover sauce.:hysterical:

*TIP, get the Reynolds Crockpot liners, -0- cleanup, just throw the bag away.

 

[TamaraQT]

Denise, I know you are going to wrinkle your nose as I did when someone gave me this recipe but I have had 2 more requests for this dish since I made it for our Christmas Eve Open House. Being Italian descent I have always made my own meatballs and we had plenty of food CE. The one dish that was totally gone was the following one:

2 lbs. of 5/8" frozen meatballs
1 1/2 cups grape jelly
2 bottles 10.5 oz chili sauce
dash cayenne pepper



melt jelly in saucepan
empty meatballs (I made 75 small ones) in crockpot
pour jelly, chili sauce & pepper over meatballs--stir to cover meatballs

Cover, cook on high until boiling, put on low and cook 2 1/2 more hrs.

Denise, I would slice your meatballs in half after they have cooked to absorb the sauce. I didn't have one meatball left. The sauce was a sweet/sour sauce, my guests were dipping Italian bread in the leftover sauce.:hysterical:

*TIP, get the Reynolds Crockpot liners, -0- cleanup, just throw the bag away.

OMG!!!! I have been looking for this recipe!!! I have never tried it but i have heard about the meatballs cooked in jelly and chili sauce. Thanks for sharing!!! And Denise....I am so glad you asked!! THANKS!!!!


BTW...those Reynolds crock pot liners are THE BEST!!! NO CLEANUP!!

 

[BevL]

I tried the grape jelly/chili sauce, but it couldn't muster up to my family's favourite meatball recipe:

Oriental Meatballs.

Assuming you've either made turkey or beef meatballs, or have purchased them, the sauce is:

1/2 cup chicken stock
1 14-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained, reserve juice
1/2 to a whole green pepper - I use red as green doesn't agree with me.
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar - I use brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice as reserved
1/2 cup vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce.

Brown the meatballs or cook according to directions.

Simmer the chicken stock, pineapple chunks and pepper for about five minutes. Mix cornstarch, sugar, pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce together and add to the pan, stirring constantly until thickened. If you like, you can add some fresh tomato chunks that have been seeded, but I personally don't like that.

You can then just mix the sauce with the meatballs and serve. I personally usually make it ahead, put it in a casserole and bake it for about 45 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Yummy.

 

[DeniseM]

Thanks everyone - if anyone has more main dish ideas, that's what I'm really looking for.

 

[Kelsie]

Tamara, Denise you are most welcomed

Swedish Meatballs

Put meatballs in crockpot with 1 32 oz box Chicken stock & 1 Beef stock
1/4 c dry red wine
3-4 minced garlic
1 sm. sweet onion chopped
1 bay leaf
fresh ground pepper to taste

I stir in 1 T of sour cream in the end

cook 2 1/2-3 hrs. start on high and lower to low when it comes to a boil, discard bay leaf

Serve over egg noodles

 

[Dori]

My cousin brought the grape jelly/chili sauce meatballs to my 60th B'day party yesterday and they were gone in a flash! They are so delicious!

If you are in a hurry, just add Diana Sauce (I use the honey garlic) to the frozen meatballs and throw them in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees.

Dori

 

[optimist]

This is a made up recipe but it is delicious and easy

approx 2lbs of meatballs (I use a mixture of beef and turkey)

1/2 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 jar favorite pasta sauce (I use something spicy like arrabiata)

Brown meatballs in oven on high heat (I use disposable aluminum pan). Add both sauces, lower heat and cook for 1-1/2 hours. (Stir sauce once or twice in the beginning to make sure all ingredients have blended).

serve with egg noodles.

 

[rnsnake]

A jar of Regular flavored Prego heated with the meatballs, makes for wonderful meatball sandwiches. Add a couple slices of provolone and....mmmmmm.

 

[normab]

If they are non-italian seasoned, I used up a large bag once by making a gravy out of:

(Approximate proportions)
Heinz brown gravy with onions - 1 jar
Sour cream-1/4 cup
worcestershire sauce-1 tbsp

Served it over noodles. and then the leftovers over rice! DH loved this!


Italian meatballs can be used for:

1. homemade meatball pizzas (cut up, and we use tortillas for thin crust but there are other thick premade crusts at the grocery store)
2. a.Throw thawed meatballs into the food processor or cut up small and put into lasagna instead of ground meat.
2. b. or can use ground meatballs to make a meat sauce out of marinara sauce.

You could always look at ground beef recipes and see where these might be substituted...

Happy experimenting!

 

[dioxide45]

My cousin brought the grape jelly/chili sauce meatballs to my 60th B'day party yesterday and they were gone in a flash! They are so delicious!

If you are in a hurry, just add Diana Sauce (I use the honey garlic) to the frozen meatballs and throw them in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees.

Dori

We don't have Diana sauced down here that I can find. I picked some up on our last visit home to Canada. It is pretty good, I like it on chicken wings.

 

[Dori]

I guess I'll have to bring some with me when we head down next week for our 6-week stay in Florida. I use it in all sorts of recipes. Thanks for the heads-up!

Dori

 

[TamaraQT]

Ok....so what is Diana sauce??

 

[BevL]

Ok....so what is Diana sauce??

For probably more than you want to know about it:

http://www.dianasauce.com/

I guess it's only available in Canada.

 

[MOXJO7282]

Denise, I know you are going to wrinkle your nose as I did when someone gave me this recipe but I have had 2 more requests for this dish since I made it for our Christmas Eve Open House. Being Italian descent I have always made my own meatballs and we had plenty of food CE. The one dish that was totally gone was the following one:

2 lbs. of 5/8" frozen meatballs
1 1/2 cups grape jelly
2 bottles 10.5 oz chili sauce
dash cayenne pepper



melt jelly in saucepan
empty meatballs (I made 75 small ones) in crockpot
pour jelly, chili sauce & pepper over meatballs--stir to cover meatballs

Cover, cook on high until boiling, put on low and cook 2 1/2 more hrs.

Denise, I would slice your meatballs in half after they have cooked to absorb the sauce. I didn't have one meatball left. The sauce was a sweet/sour sauce, my guests were dipping Italian bread in the leftover sauce.:hysterical:

*TIP, get the Reynolds Crockpot liners, -0- cleanup, just throw the bag away.

You stole my wife's recipe!! Just kidding, but these meatballs are to die for.

Although my wife broils them in oven, not crockpot.

 

[DeniseM]

I started to do something creative this morning with the meatballs and the crockpot, and DH said, "Aren't you going to put some of your homemade tomato sauce on those meatballs?" I said, "No, I'm going to try something new." He said, "But I like your tomato sauce." Hard to argue with that!

 

[Stricky]

Subs... meatball subs are the bomb. (everyone once in a while it is good to talk like a 14 yo)

 

[wandering gnome]

Denise,

Could you post or email your homemade sauce recipe?

 

[DeniseM]

Sure -

20 lb. tomatoes, washed and diced
4 c. chopped onions
4 c. chopped celery
4 c. chopped bell pepper
3 T. dried oregano
1/3 c. garlic, minced
2 T. dried basil
1 t. black pepper
2 T. salt
1 c. red wine

Simmer over low heat until reduced by 50% - stir occasionally.

Add 2 T. lemon juice directly to each canning jar to ensure acidity is at a safe level for canning.

 

[bobcat]

DH just brought home a big bag of large frozen meat balls. Besides pasta, what are some other ways I can use them?

THANKS!

Frozen meatballs. Never, not in our house. We make fresh all the time. They taste better too.

 

[DeniseM]

DH works in the food industry and we get to try a lot of mis-delivered shipments.

 

[applegirl]

I buy Aidell's teriyaki chicken meatballs from Costco and use them to make chicken lettuce wraps (like what we order from PFChang's). I dice up the meatballs, add them to a pot and put in hoisin sauce (could probably use plum sauce too) and a splash of OJ. I liked Kum Lee Hoisin better than Dynasty. I serve them with iceberg lettuce leaves and buy sides of Chow mein and fried rice from Panda Express (only $3 for a large side). Sometimes I will serve fresh vegetable like carrots and cucumber on the side. Oh, I also put cilantro on the lettuc wraps and it's so good with the flavor of the hoisin sauce!

Cheers,
Janna

 

[nodge]

A local favorite in these parts is the "Deluxe" pizza from Giovanni's. It has meat sauce, ground beef, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and . . . . meatballs!

In case anyone is wondering about the logistics of putting meatballs on a pizza, Giovanni's slices them.

mmmmmmm

-nodge

 

[swift]

Meatball Minestrone

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 medium zucchini, sliced
6 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning herb mix
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, UNDRAINED
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 cups prepared meatballs (24 regular-sized) or chunks of leftover meatloaf
One 15-ounce can Cannellini or Great Northern Beans, drained
One 14-ounce can Italian green beans, drained
1/2 cup small shell pasta - optional

In large saucepan, over medium-low heat, saute onion, garlic, carrots, celery and zucchini in olive oil until onions are soft and transparent. Add cabbage, broth, seasonings, tomatoes, tomato paste, and meatballs. Allow to simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender. Add Cannellini beans, green beans and pasta. Cook until pasta is tender. Serve with shredded parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.