Well fans, I told you I made variations to two of my recipes and I finally have a minute to share. I’ve been trying to do some Asian-inspired dinners that don’t involve me picking up the phone and ordering fried, fried, sauced and steamed. I also wanted this dish to still be kid-friendly for picky eaters. So I took my favorite crock pot sassy meatballs and changed it’s regional origin! 

You can add many different vegetables to this dish, like the pea pods and shredded carrot that I chose, but also try water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, or bean sprouts for even more interesting textures and authentic cuisine.

Start by making your own meatballs using 1 lb beef, 1 lb turkey, 2 eggs, 2 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs. Do not bake them like you would with the sassy meatballs, you can actually cook the meatballs directly in the sauce for a softer finish to the meat.

Crock Pot Asian Meatballs

serves 6-8

2 lb. meatballs (see above recipe or buy frozen ones)

8 oz. grape jelly

1 jar Heinz chili sauce

1/2 lb. snow peas or sugar snap peas

1 c. shredded carrot (bagged or hand-grated)

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. roasted sesame seeds

Put all solids into the crockpot. Mix jelly, soy sauce and chili sauce together and then pour into crockpot. Cook 4-6 hours on low. Serve over noodles or rice and top with sesame seeds.

I’m too excited about tomorrow’s dinner to wait until morning to post this. It’s funny– I have been posting all these recipes that are hearty and healthy, but mostly vegetable-based. Not this one! For all you meat lovers, this is simple, sassy and super! (Thank you to my friend BBM for introducing me to this sauce.) This recipe is fantastic to throw together for any occasion. It makes a great appetizer, can be thrown on egg noodles for dinner or on little crusty rolls as sandwiches. While it only has a few ingredients in it, the flavors mingle together in a tangy, unique way. Whether you serve it with toothpicks or forks, you’ll be pleased by how little efforts it takes to make great taste.

(Start by making your own meatballs using 1 lb beef, 1 lb turkey, 2 eggs, 1 T. chopped parsley and 1/2 c. breadcrumbs. Mix it all together, form little balls and then bake them on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. I’m going to make these tonight and then do the crock potting tomorrow at lunchtime. Or, if you prefer, you can totally buy frozen meatballs and use those instead. I won’t tell!)

2 lb. meatballs

8 oz. grape jelly

1 jar Heinz chili sauce

1 can pineapple chunks, drained

1 green pepper, diced

2 T. fresh minced parsley

Put all solids into the crockpot. Mix jelly and chili sauce together and then pour into crockpot. Cook 4-6 hours on low.