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The sweet and sour sauce for this recipe is very simple to make but it’s the meat ball portion that can be difficult if the kids don’t co-operate. What usually happens to me is that I start mixing the ingredients together to form the meatballs and will be wrist deep in raw hamburger when my toddler will do something that he shouldn’t be doing including dragging the cat around by the house by his tail. So what I have begun doing is making meatballs when (a) he is sleeping or (b) on the weekend when my husband can watch and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble although the two of them can usually find a way to get into trouble anyways. I also double the meatball recipe, freeze half and now I have and easy meal for reheating at a later time.

MEATBALL INGREDIENTS

• 1 Package Of Onion Soup Mix
• 1 Egg
• Cracker or bread crumbs (add as desired)
• 1lb of lean ground beef

DIRECTIONS

• Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and form into small balls, place these onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

SWEET & SOUR SAUCE INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp Cornstarch
• 1 Cup brown sugar
• ½ Cup Vinegar
• ½ Ketchup
• 1½ Cup water

DIRECTIONS

• Mix cornstarch & vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and boil over medium high heat until clear (about 5 minutes)

Serve

Serve meatballs and sauce over top of egg noodles, rice or your favourite pasta.

Recipe Alterations

When following the meatball recipe above what I found was that they were a little bland, so now what I do to make it taste better to me and my family is:

1. I use cornflake crumbs instead of bread crumbs
2. I add salt and pepper
3. I give it a dash of wortchestire sauce
4. I will add a bit of bbq sauce to give it a zip

The amounts for each of the additions will vary from each time I make it but generally I add just enough stuff until the meatballs stick together.

For the sweet and sour sauce I also change a couple of things:

1. Instead of using household vinegar I switch and use Apple Cider Vinegar and I reduce the amount from ½ cup to ¼ cup
2. I also add a half can of crushed pineapple to the sauce at the end and allow the pineapple to heat through

Family Taste Test

Both my husband and myself really enjoy this meal and as a bonus it’s quick and easy to make (especially if you made the meatballs ahead of time). My toddler simply loves this meal as meatballs are one of his favourite things to eat. He also loves the tartness of the sauce but does have a hard time getting the noodles to co-operate and stay on his fork and will usually just eat with his fingers.

My Thoughts

If your children tend to get frustrated easily at the dinner table you could try using a different kind of pasta or if you are braver than I am you could use rice. I actually prefer eating this over rice but in my house that will almost certainly result in a huge mess. Having my child eat egg noodles with his fingers may not be the best of table manners but I still prefer it over stepping on cooked rice for the rest of the night (or at least until the dog licks it all off the floor)

Filed under: Main Dish