Pretty Little Apron

ground pork

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs

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Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs

The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and these Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs are a crowd-pleasing appetizer worthy of bringing to the big game!


Truth: I don’t care about the Super Bowl. I don’t follow football, my husband doesn’t follow football, and well… we just aren’t a sporty family. I GUESS I’m rooting for the Eagles because my Mom is a super fan and I’m close to Philadelphia. 🙂 We usually go to a family friendly party, and I’m strictly there for the food so don’t ask me about the game or even the commercials because I could care less!

My ALL TIME favorite Super Bowl appetizer is Buffalo Chicken Dip. It is addicting, delicious, and expected to be at every party. Wings are also right up there on the list of must haves, but you will always need a few other items to fill in for the folks who aren’t into spicy foods. Shrimp, meatballs, guacamole, pizza… you know all the good stuff!

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs

For these Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs, I did make my meatballs from scratch because it is super simple to do! HOWEVER…. if you happen to pick up frozen meatballs to make this recipe, no judgement here! That is what I love about this recipe, it is customizable and can be made in even less time if you are in a hurry. Getting all of my family ready and out the door for a Super Bowl party is stressful enough, so I totally get it. If you are running low on time or just don’t care…. GET THE FROZEN MEATBALLS. 🙂

Homemade Honey Barbecue Sauce over meatballs. Smoky sweet meatballs.

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs Recipe Tips

  1. Again, this recipe is totally customizable. Don’t have time to make meatballs from scratch? Buy frozen! Want your sauce a bit sweeter? Add more honey! Really love ranch dressing? Drizzle some on there like I did!
  2. If you are making meatballs from scratch, the meatball recipe is a basic tried and true recipe. There isn’t anything particularly different about it, because the sauce and the bacon are really making these meatballs.
  3. The sauce is WAY better the next day. I would suggest maybe making it the day before, and letting all of the flavors come together overnight in the refrigerator. Here is the thing about homemade sauces like this…. they need time. Just like the sauce you buy in the grocery store has been sitting for a period of time, it is also good to let your homemade sauce sit and mingle together.
  4. If you’d like to make these as a meal, they are great with a simple side like buttered egg noodles or jasmine rice. We have eaten them as a meal with rice and they were fantastic.
  5. If your party is large, I would suggest making a double batch. If you’d like to stick with a single batch, you can always make them mini-meatballs to stretch them farther.
  6. For the meat… I prefer to use a meatball/meatloaf mix of meats. It includes beef, pork, and veal. I know, I know. But listen, the meat matters! My local grocery stores do sell this already pre-mixed specifically for meatballs and meatloaf. If you can’t find a meatball mix at your grocery store, I would ask the butcher there to make you a mix, or just purchase 1 pound of each and make a large batch and freeze the extras.

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs #meatballs, #meatballsrecipes, #barbecue, #honeybarbecue, #gamedayrecipes, #superbowlrecipes

 

Mini Meatball Stir fry

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Meatball Stir Fry… is this even legal? Why yes, yes it is and I believe they (whoever they are) like to call this Fusion Food. You know, taking two things and putting them together to create something so much better than the two things by themselves. Yeah, Fusion Food people. Let’s all get on the Fusion Food Train!


Truth be told, there is a restaurant by my house that I pass often called Fusion Fire. They have a bunch of creepy statues outside but I’ve heard the food is good. Another truth be told, when you have kids you don’t get to go out to eat unless you want to deal with someone peeing their pants at the table or knocking a drink over on the waitress. I kid, I kid, those things never happened but they could have if we were brave enough to take our kids out to eat in the first place. Maybe in about, I don’t know, 10 years or so we will get to Fusion Fire, but for now I’m doin’ it homemaker style and it is kind of awesome. 😉

meatballstirfry

Can I just point out the fact that meatballs are ugly. Like step-sister with a wart on her chin ugly. But come now, let’s not get all judge-y and such. Let’s forget about those warts and remember the truth. Meatballs are delish. And step-sisters with warts are people too!

Now you may have taken notice… I’m using white rice. Yes, I’m a person too (just like that steppy sis) and sometimes I bend the rules. Brown rice is not bleached but it just isn’t the same. If I’m eating a bunch of veggies with a few mini homemade meatballs then I’m going to have my big mound of white rice and drops of soy sauce on top. You know, Fusion Food just isn’t the same without the white rice, right? Precisely.

If you are feeling like you can resist the sticky white rice and soy sauce drizzled on top, please do! Brown rice would also go lovely with this. And just because I used white rice once doesn’t mean I’m selling out and going all Dump Cake on everyone. Don’t worry, the unbleached grains will be back tomorrow!

No Dump Cakes, and no nasty breadcrumbs either. Believe it or not those canned breadcrumbs (Progresso, Kraft, etc.) all contain a slew of ridiculous ingredients that have nothing at all to do with bread. Not even remotely! Progresso’s “breadcrumbs” contain 59 ingredient. Why??????????? Is all I have to say to that! Just so you can’t say I didn’t warn you…. buy the organic whole wheat version or make your own using 2 slices of whole wheat bread toasted and processed in a food processor.

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This is a two step recipe. Make the balls (oh the kitchen jokes that come about when people are making meatballs, especially in a room full of guys!), and then make the veggies and sauce. Of course you can throw your rice on at any time during this process as well. If you don’t want your balls to be spicy, just omit the fennel and red pepper flakes.

Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp sesame oil or olive oil
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 cup sugar snap peas
  • 1/2 cup corn kernels (I removed them from one of my non-GMO sweet corn cobs that I got at the market.)
  • 2 Tbsp reduced sodium tamari soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp sweetener (I used molasses. You could also use honey.)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions: Heat large sauté pan with sesame or olive oil. Put veggies in pan, and cook over medium heat until veggies are beginning to get tender. Add tamari soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, sweetener of choice, and garlic powder. Mix everything well and allow to cook to desired tenderness (I like crunchy veggies). Cook rice according to package directions. When meatballs are finished toss in pan with the stir fry and love on some Fusion Food!