{Party Food} Sweet & Sour Meatballs

I hope you're all enjoying your holiday week. We've been mostly homebound due to a sick little one. Doing lots of jigsaw puzzles and watching many movies!

Before this all happened, it was Christmas Eve. Wow, that seems like so long ago already! December is really busy in our home since we celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas. We do Christmas Eve in our house with my family and Christmas Day is always spent with the hubbs' family in Staten Island.

This Christmas Eve, I took some advice from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) and decided NOT to make everything myself. It was so freeing! We made 3 things and assembled 3 things. Don't you just love party food? The best part was that I purposely made so much and had leftovers that lasted for a few days after.

One of my favorite party foods is Sweet & Sour Meatballs.

They're always a hit and as you'll see, so easy to make. I wanted to give you this recipe now in case you needed something for New Year's Eve.

I think you'll be surprised at the secret ingredient!!

Yes, the sauce is made from 2 things - salsa and GRAPE JELLY!!!

No one will ever know it's grape jelly, they'll just think it's delicious!!

Start out with equal parts of your favorite salsa and grape jelly. Since there were kids involved, I used Mild salsa. If it was an adult only party I would have gone with the Medium. For 2 pounds of ground meat, I used approximately 32 ounces each of the salsa and jelly.

Open them both up and put it in a pot.

As this mixture heats up, the jelly starts to liquify and it becomes more like a sauce. This is the same pot you'll be cooking the meatballs in.

You can use your favorite meatball recipe or try mine.

Like I mentioned, I started with 2 pounds organic ground beef, (use whatever you like), 2 eggs, seasoned breadcrumbs, dash of Worcestershire Sauce, dry oregano, garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients together and form into small meatballs - try to get them smaller than a golf ball. They should be about a 2-bite size ball. I think I got about 40 to 50 meatballs or so out of this mixture.

By the time you finish forming the meatballs, the sauce should be simmering away. Give it a good mix and start to gently place the meatballs in the sauce. Try not to make the mistake I made, and think about the size of your pot BEFORE you start cooking!!

After I put the meatballs in, I realized the pot was too small and had to transfer everything to a larger pot. This pot was actually too big but I didn't have anything in between.

Ooops! There I am in the reflection with my pink snowflake 'jamas on!

Put the lid on and cook the meatballs for about an hour. In the last 15 minutes if you think the sauce looks too thin, take the cover off and the sauce will start to reduce and thicken. This is actually a great dish to make the night before because the sauce definitely thickens up overnight.

Once the meatballs are done, place them in a serving bowl along with your other party food goodies and you're ready to go!

Hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve!

Let me know if you try this recipe.

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Sweet & Sour Meatballs (makes about 40 - 50 meatballs)

For the sauce:

• equal parts salsa annd grape jelly (32 ounces each)

For the meatballs:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon each garlic powder & onion powder
• splash of worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 - place salsa and grape jelly in a pot on medium heat

2 - mix together all of the ingredients for the meatballs. If the mixture seems too tight, add a little water.

3 - form small meatballs in about a 2-bite size

4 - carefully place the meatballs into the simmering sauce and cook covered for an hour

5 - check the sauce in the last 15 minutes - if too thin, remove cover

6 - place in a serving bowl and enjoy!

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Do you have a favorite recipe that you whip out at parties? Would love to hear about them.