RECIPE: BBQ MEATBALLS

I've been looking for easier recipes to whip up that will appease the taste buds of a two year old and fill the stomach of a hungry man and I think I hit the jackpot.  This was my first time making meatballs and it won't be my last.  I'm not a huge fan of just a big ball of meat (TWSS) but even I really dig these.

The process of throwing all the ingredients together, while simple enough, is pretty disgusting.  I hate touching meat (especially beef) and to mix these up, you really have to work your hands and give the meat a nice little massage to incorporate the ingredients.  I'm sure there is some handy little tool out there to get the job done but I found that using my hands saved me a bit of time and that's something I'm always looking for.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 C. quick oatmeal
1 egg
1/2 C. barbecue sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 C. ketchup
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together beef, egg, oatmeal, barbecue sauce, and salt and pepper.  From into 1 inch balls (hint: use a cookie scoop!) and set side by side in a 9x13 inch pan.  Mix together ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and pour over meatballs.  Bake for 45 minutes.

A couple things I've realized following recipes is that I hate when they put the oven temperature as the last step.  There has been more than one occasion where I get things thrown together, getting ready to throw it in the oven and giving myself a high-five, only to realize the damn oven isn't on.  Nothing kills your baking/cooking high like a cold oven.  Serious pet peeve.  Put it as the first direction.  Another is complicated recipes involving long directions or more than 10 ingredients.  Chances are I'm not going to take the time to read through either.  Also, the word barbecue or is it barbeque?  One is what you go to the other is what you eat.  Get it right people.

Bonus: double the recipe and freeze half.  I did and I have one freezer meal ready to go for the winter.