Cranberry Ginger-garlic Party Meatballs

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 45
• 2 -3 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 (20 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained and reserve juice
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 brown sugar brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic (adjust amount of garlic to taste)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 -3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 -2 teaspoon ginger powder (start by adding in only 1 teaspoon, adjusting to taste)
• 1 (250 ml) bottle russian salad dressing
• 4 cups cranberry sauce (i just use the whole can!)
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped (optional)

Recipe

• 1 prepare the ground beef with your favorite meatball recipe.
• 2 shape into about 1-inch balls (or as desired).
• 3 place on a baking sheet and brown to about half cooked, just enough to release the fat (maintain oven heat to 350 degrees).
• 4 in a saucepan combine reserved pineapple juice, butter, brown sugar, minced fresh garlic, cornstarch, cider vinegar, soy sauce and ginger (start with 1 teaspoon ginger powder) russian dressing and cranberry sauce; bring to a boil, simmer and cook until the mixture is thickened and bubbly (about 10-15 minutes) stirring occasionally.
• 5 grease a casserole dish (large enough to hold the mixture).
• 6 place the semi-cooked meatballs in the dish with the sauce, pineapple chunks and chopped bell peppers; stir gently with a wooden spoon to coat the meatballs.
• 7 cover and bake for about 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked completely.
• 8 *note* if you find that the sauce is too sweet, then add in another tablesooon cider vinegar and simmer on top of the stove for anoth couple of minutes or so.