Ingredients

• Italian-style meatballs, 1/2 bag (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Smucker’s Concord Grape Jelly, 32 ounce jar
• Heinz Chili Sauce, 2-12 ounce jars

Instructions

Put meatballs in a crock pot. Cover the meatballs with the grape jelly and chili sauce and put lid on the crock pot. Set the temperature of the crock pot to low to medium and serve in about two hours. You can stir if you wish, but my experience is that if you leave it alone, everything just comes together. Just set out small plates and toothpicks by the crock pot and tell everyone to help themselves. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated in a sauce pan or microwave.

Notes

I got this recipe from Anne Bried, formerly of the Texas Beef Council in Austin. We were at a retreat in South Texas in the 1990s and I saw her putting this together as an appetizer. I couldn’t believe what I saw! Grape jelly and meatballs? Well, it was wonderful, and we now serve this as a regular appetizer for our get-togethers. I took this to one of the Week By Week Class Men’s Cookoffs and it was a hit. Try the recipe and be sure to watch the shock of those who eat it when they find out that the major ingredient is grape jelly!