Ultimate Party Meatballs!

I love finding new recipes, especially new twists on old favorites! So when MomCentral offered to let me review the Ultimate Party Meatballs recipe from Heinz and Ocean Spray, I was happy to oblige! I'd heard of people making cocktail meatballs with grape jelly and cocktail or chili sauce, but the Heinz/Ocean Spray pairing sounded really good...

The recipe is SUPER simple:
1 jar Heinz Chili Sauce
1 can Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry sauce
2 pound bag of frozen cocktail meatballs
Either combine in a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours, or heat the meatballs and sauce in a pan, for about 20 minutes.

I made this recipe for our Thanksgiving dinners (my parents and hubby's), but since I'm FRUGAL I made my own meatballs with this recipe:
Mix 2 lb ground beef with 3 eggs, 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs, 1.5 TBSP garlic powder, 1.5 TBSP onion powder, 2 tsp white pepper and 2 tsp Turmeric. Squish with your hands! Roll into small meatballs and pan-fry until browned on all sides. Transfer to paper-towel lined plate and let drain. (can be made ahead of time)

I decided to add a drained can of pineapple tidbits to the sauces in the crockpot, and cooked on high for just under 4 hours. The end result? NO LEFTOVERS!!! Yay! Both families RAVED about the flavor, and even though we didn't get to my dad's till much later in the day, they reheated wonderfully. I'm definitely putting this on my regular party appetizer list, and I've already gotten requests to make it for the annual Superbowl party!

Be sure to visit the Ultimate Party Meatballs site for recipes, and great tips on entertaining during the holidays! (And while you're there, be sure to enter their $3000 Ultimate Party sweepstakes!)

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Heinz and Ocean Spray and received the ingredients necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. This review reflects my honest opinion based on my experience in using the product, and this post was not edited or reviewed by anyone.




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Menu Plan Monday - Sept 27th, '09

Is it really almost October? Man, this year has flown by. The Boy Wonder has grown SO much, and his new little brother is already 6 weeks old! Watching the two of them start to interact over the last few days has been AWESOME...BW is enamored by the Noob's feet and toes (just like mommy!) and N's starting to recognize BW's face and smiles whenever he's in view.

I am SO looking forward to fall recipes! Apples and butternut squash should be hitting great prices, and I may pick up some sugar pumpkins so I can freeze some mashed for recipes later in the year. I'm doing my first week of all fresh-prepared meals, I found ANOTHER Spaghetti Pie and some Italian Pasta Salad in the freezer but I'll save those for after I go back to work so hubby has some goodies to fall back on when he's with the kids.

Here's what we're noshing on this week, be sure to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for HUNDREDS more menu ideas!

monday - Burritos using leftover Obama's Chili, salad ($2.50 for 4 servings)

tuesday - Chickpea Stew over rice ($3.44 for 6 servings)

wednesday - Thai-style Chicken over rice ($4.50 for 4-5 servings)

thursday - Crockpot beef roast, veggies, homemade rolls ($7.10 for 6 servings)

friday - Beef Gorditas, corn ($5.60 for 4-6 servings)

saturday - Leftovers (FREE)

sunday - Dinner at the in law's (FREE)




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Menu Plan Monday - Feb 16th '09

Happy post-Valentines day! I hope everyone had a great weekend! We spent a quiet evening home and actually had a nice sit-down dinner...with a toddler in the house that alone was a fantastic V-Day gift :)

We did well sticking to the menu plan last week, I shuffled a few of the days around because I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer early in the week (oops!)...I blame it on prego brain! But it all worked out in the end, I still stuck to plan and budget and we ended up having the full roast chicken spread for Valentine's dinner. The best news is that my nausea seems to FINALLY be gone so I can EAT DINNER again! Hooray!

This week is another exercise in using as much from the pantry as possible...we are 12 days from our move, and I am trying to use up my surplus as well as sock away some money for moving expenses. I have been using Supercook.com to dig up recipes based on what I have - you just input the ingredients you have available and it lists recipes you can make right away, as well as any recipes that require a few extra ingredients.

Check out what we're eating - and don't forget to visit the MANY other MPM participants over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

monday - Leftover Vegetable soup (from the freezer!), Grilled cheese sandwiches ($0.75 for 3 servings)

tuesday - Chicken Broccoli Casserole made with mostly leftovers! ($2.50 for 6 servings)

wednesday - BBQ beef sandwiches (made with leftover beef roast and homemade rolls), cream corn, Sweet Potato Sticks ($3.90 for 4-6 servings)

thursday - Garlic Pork Chops, zucchini, couscous ($6.16 for 4 servings)

friday - Homemade Enchiladas ($5.88 for 4-6 servings)

saturday - Homemade Pizza ($2.94 for 6-8 servings)

sunday - Leftover night! Free!!






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