A hit with the husband

Sweet-Sour Meatballs
High Plains Country Cooking Copyright 1993

1 lb. ground beef
salt
pepper
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper, optional I added this
1 cup cracker crumbs
½ cup milk
Sauce:
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup catsup
1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Combine meatball ingredients and shape into small balls. Place in baking dish and cover with sauce made by combining ingredients. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Makes 4 servings.

My one complaint with this recipe is that the sauce barely covered the meatballs. I doubled it (twice what is printed above) and it still wasn’t saucy but the meatballs were completely covered. I used lean beef and the meatballs didn’t really give up any juice. This recipe makes a good amount of meatballs. It’s only one pound of ground beef but a cup of vegetables are added and a cup of cracker crumbs.

I made these the night before I served them, something I often do due to time constraints. I really think it helps with dishes that use vinegar in the sauce. They always seem much more mellow the next day .

My husband liked these enough to ask if I was making them again anytime soon. He actually ranked them with his other favorite – hot Italian subs.

This is a nice little cookbook sent to me by an online friend in Iowa. Nice glossy pages, spiral bound (love that – no worry about the book slamming shut while you’re preparing a recipe). It’s a nice collection of homey recipes. I plan on trying many more of them but I don’t think I’ll be making fried rattlesnake anytime soon.