"77" Meatballs

I must start this post by giving credit to my sister, Sarah, for the presentation of these meatballs...I was struggling a bit with getting them to photograph well and she came to my rescue :) I have previously posted a meatball recipe and within that post, I'm fairly certain I made reference to these meatballs. Yet again, this recipe comes from one of my bridal shower cookbooks (put together with recipes from my family and friends). This recipe is from one of my Mom's friends, who she has known since college. I made these a couple of years ago as an appetizer for my son's birthday party and they were a huge hit! I kept asking my sister what I could bring on the 4th and since she refused to tell me, I decided that I was going to make these to snack on before dinner. (My family LOVES appetizers...we tend to make way too many and fill up on them before we even eat dinner!) These meatballs are equally as good reheated...I've even served them leftover as a "meal" with mashed potatoes. The nicest part is that you can make them ahead of time and then just bake them right before serving--I'd think you could even bake them the day before and heat them up in the crockpot, if you wanted.

"77" Meatballs

2 pounds ground lean sirloin or turkey (I just used ground chuck)
1 cup cornflakes
1/3 cup fresh, chopped parsley
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons minced onions
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

SAUCE:
1 can jellied cranberry sauce
(1) 12 ounce bottle chili sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all meatball ingredients and roll into balls (about 3/4 inch diameter). Place in rows in a 9x13 inch pan. Combine all sauce ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Pour sauce over meatballs and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Source: Tricia Smith