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Monday, December 1, 2008

football sunday marmalade meatballs

marmalade meatballs

We're officially in my favorite sports time of the year - NFL is in full swing, and college basketball is just getting going. I start planning my meals around the games, since making sure you've got some great snacks is just as important to me as making sure you've got your jersey on (for the record, I alternate between Julius Peppers' Panthers jersey, Heath Miller's Steeler's jersey, and a UNC hoodie). Anyway, I remember having a neighbor's family recipe for meatballs years ago at a Super Bowl party, and he told me the secret ingredient was grape jelly. I still haven't tracked down that original recipe, but I found one I could use as a starter. I make my own meatballs (half beef, half pork, minced onion, garlic, parsley, fresh bread crumbs, a couple eggs, and a tiny bit of milk, then sauteed in olive oil), and then added them to the slow cooker with this sauce for a couple hours. They were great on their own, and the slow cooker meant you could graze all Sunday afternoon.

Grocery list: 2 pounds of meatballs, a 16-oz bottle of french dressing (original says Catalina, but WF doesn't carry much by way of super processed dressings), orange marmalade, worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes.

ingredients for marmalade meatballs

Add meatballs (either your own or prepared frozen ones) to a slow cooker with 1 16-oz bottle of dressing, 1 cup marmalade, 3 T worcestershire, and red pepper flakes (as hot as you like). If the meatballs are already cooked and warm or room temp, cook on high for 30 minutes to an hour; if you're using frozen ones, the recipe says to cook them on high for 2-3 hours. Turn the slow cooker to the warm setting for as long as the games are on.

6 comments:

Beana803 said...

OMG! Not only do you create my favorite blog....but you are a STEELER fan!!!! WOOOHOO I'm from Pittsburgh, but live in Saint Petersburg, FL....and there is a huge Steeler following here. Complete with 2 full on Steeler bars. These look delicious....going to make them Sunday for our Cowboy's match up...still haven't tried the salmon...but I'll let you know how they both go!

KT said...

Ha! We're all over the world, more than any other team I always see Steelers fans representing :) My boyfriend is actually from there, although I've followed the Steelers since I was a little kid (we didn't have an NFL team in NC till 95, so I adopted the burgh!).

I'm going to make something special for Sunday's game, it's a big one. I was thinking maybe stromboli? Either that or I make some fries and try for a Primanti imitation... What do you think?

KT

Beana803 said...

That's funny that you mention Primanti's! I was home visiting my family two weeks ago and stumbled in there after a long night in the strip. YUM YUM YUM. I am always partial to Primanti's, but it is a delicate thing....don't want to mess up tradition. I'm sure you would make it delicious though! Good luck...and GO STEELERS!

libba said...

I've been searching for this recipe.. thanks!

Sista GP said...

Hey, thanks for the link.

Here's the mushroom gravy recipe for the meatballs as it was given to me.

1 can Cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of water, Italian seasoning and a little spagehetti sauce for color.

I had used Mexican Hot Tomato Sauce instead of Spaghetti sauce.

It was a hit for Goodie Day. Have two others on Wed and Thurs morning. We like to eat at the office. Any suggestions?

KT said...

Sista GP - thanks for sharing! I made some extra meatballs last time so I need a new sauce to try out later this week, perfect! As for good make-ahead meals... I really liked this chicken enchilada "lasagna" (http://ahungrybear.blogspot.com/2008/08/enchilada-lasagna.html). You just layer the tortillas with a cheese sauce and enchilada sauce, some shredded chicken and cheese. It reheats really well too.

If you wanted to stick with a crockpot, I'd have to go with ribs (http://ahungrybear.blogspot.com/2008/07/slow-cooked-ribs-with-lisas-secret.html)...

What a great idea for a fun lunch at work by the way.

KT