This one's another favorite at our house, 1) because it tastes really good and 2) because it works really well for leftovers. Mom serves this over rice, but I'm not a huge fan of rice so often I just eat the meatballs by themselves or with whatever side dish.

Mom's closing tonight (she works in a big home improvement box store) so I wasn't planning on cooking anything, but I got bored so I dug out this recipe because it's easy and (on the plus) doesn't require an oven. However, because I hadn't planned on cooking, the ground beef was frozen solid when I got started. Most new microwaves have a defrost setting for meat; if yours doesn't, try this tutorial at wiseGEEK to thaw the meat in the microwave. This should be a last resort; I always suggest that you plan ahead and thaw your meat overnight in the fridge... but if you're like me (lazy!) then the microwave can work well.

Mom's Island Meat Balls

NOTE: This recipe is just about enough for one person. We usually at least double it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
  
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 cup plain water
• 8 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp vinegar (I really recommend regular vinegar for this, not the apple-cider variety, but whatever pops your crank)
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all the above ingredients in a bowl and set them aside.

• 1 lb. ground meat (beef or turkey)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1/2 cup saltine cracker crumbs
• 1/2 tsp pepper (plain table pepper, not that white pepper)
• 1/4 cup milk

PREPARATION:

Combine the second set of ingredients in a large bowl. Mash them up really good with your hands. Form into small balls (about the size of one of those high-bounce balls we used to get out of the quarter machines when we were kids) and brown in canola or vegetable oil. (You can use olive oil, but it's more expensive and Mom doesn't like it; she says it makes the meat taste funny. I can't tell the difference, personally. Also, don't use a lot of oil; you're browning, not deep-frying.)

Once the meatballs are browned, drain off all the oil, then add the sauce and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes or until the sauce gets nice and thick. They taste very sweet, almost like pineapple or something. It's yummy.

Making the sauce


Meatballs cooking in the oil


Cooking in the sauce
A little bit of the finished product! My sauce didn't thicken up quite right, not sure why... Moooooooooooom!!!!!!!


Edit: Mom says the reason my sauce didn't thicken is because I cooked it with a lid on. *facepalm*