Christmas Meatballs

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope onion soup mix
• 1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 (16 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped onions
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Recipe

• 1 for meatballs:.
• 2 combine eggs, soup mix, cranberries, bread crumbs and parsley in bowl. crumble in ground beef. mix. shape into 1-inch balls. arrange 12 to 14 meatballs on microwave-safe plate.
• 3 cover with waxed paper. cook on high for 3 to 4 minutes, or until no longer pink. remove to paper towels to drain. repeat with remaining meatballs.
• 4 for sauce:.
• 5 combine cranberry sauce, broth, brown sugar, ketschup, onions and cider vinegar in microwave-safe 2 quart dish. cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 minutes, rotating once.
• 6 gently stir in meatballs. cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through.
• 7 note: i'm just not wild about cooking meat in the microwave -- so i prefer to do these the old fashioned way. i have good luck with placing the formed meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet and placing them in the oven set at 350 for about 10 minutes -- just until they firm up. i them add them to a saucepan on the stove that i have made the sauce in and let them simmer on low heat until they are cooked through.