Bourbon Meatballs

I'm always looking for new twists on recipes that I know will be a big hit.  For our down home cooking party, I made Pa's Bourbon Whiskey meatballs.

Ingredients:
1 lb bag of frozen meatballs (I happened to use beef this time since they were on sale)
1/2 C ketchup
1/2 C brown sugar, packed
1/4 C bourbon whiskey (I used some 5 buck chuck)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

Directions:
1. Place frozen meatballs in the crock pot
2. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over meatballs, stirring to coat.
3. Turn heat up to high for about an hour, stir 2-3 times.  Then, once the meatballs have somewhat thawed, kick the heat down to low and let it go until they're all cooked and thoroughly warmed (another hour or two), then keep on warm throughout the party.

Sausage Cheddar Balls

Sometimes you get in a meatball rut, you know?  It's so easy to throw together some grape jelly, chili sauce, BBQ sauce, meatballs, or whatever to serve as a warm meatball dish.

Okay, so maybe this sausage cheddar meatball recipe is from Martha Stewart, but it's fairly easy to create, you just have to be willing to get your hands dirty!

 For me, one of the biggest selling points of this recipes is that the meatballs are baked.  Once you've rolled them, you just put them on your parchment paper and bake this up.
The problem?  I thought they turned out a little dry.  Maybe when you're so used to drenching the meatballs in sauces, you forget what normal meatballs taste like.  Regardless, I served them with some dipping sauces, like home made chutney.  Most people, however, ate them as is, so maybe the sauceless balls play!

I love that you just lift them out of the grease before serving.  Save those calories!!