Sweet Garlic Meatballs

These meatballs are always a crowd pleaser. I love to serve the meatballs alone for a hearty appetizer, or on hoagie rolls for a meal. If I'm in a hurry, I'll use pre-cooked frozen meatballs instead of making them from scratch, though if you have the time, definitely make them from scratch, they're way better. I also love to serve the sauce over meatloaf.

Sweet Garlic Meatballs

For Meatballs:
1 egg
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
2 T. finely chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef
 
For Sauce:
1 c. ketchup
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
dash liquid smoke, optional

For Sandwiches:
6 sandwich rolls, split

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all meatball ingredients, mix well. Roll into 1 inch balls. Place meatballs in an ungreased 1 quart baking dish.

In a separate bowl, combine all sauce ingredients, mix well.

Pour sauce over meatballs. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve on sandwich rolls, if desired.

Notes:
You can substitute 1 lb. of pre-cooked frozen meatballs. Combine the frozen meatballs and sauce. Either heat through in a large saucepan, bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or in a crockpot on high for 2 hours.

It's important that the sauce be heated along with the meatballs, so that the meatballs stay moist and the sugar in the sauce can dissolve. 

The sauce freezes great, I often make up large batches and freeze it in quart bags.