Super Bowl Sunday: Beer-Mustard Meatballs

It only seemed fitting that on a day formerly celebrated by my mother with an overabundance of "nibbles" I should add an item or two to the blog just for the hell of it ;-) While I didn't exactly spend the afternoon watching pregame and the Super Bowl itself, I was super happy to spend that same time in the kitchen while Amelia ping-ponged back and forth between me in the kitchen and Nick-Nick on the couch.

2 eggs
1/2 c. fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. finely chopped onion (I used a sweet onion)
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 pound ground beef (I used ground sirloin)
4- four ounce uncooked bratwurst links, casings removed (I used Johnsonville Beer 'n Bratwurst)
1-twelve ounce bottle beer (I used Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat, mainly because it is what I had on hand)
1/3 c. Dijon-style mustard
1/4 c. finely chopped onion

1. Preheat the over to 375.  In a large bowl beat eggs with a fork.  Stir in bread crumbs, onion, milk, salt, and pepper.  Add brats (casings removed) and ground beef; mix well.  Shape mixture into 36 meatballs.  Place meatballs in a shallow baking pan.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through (160 degrees).  Drain off fat.
2. Place meatballs in a 3.5  or 4 quart slow cooker.  For the sauce, in a small bowl stir together one 12-ounce bottle beer, 1/3 c. Dijon-style or course-ground mustard, and 1/4 c. finely chopped onion; pour over the meatballs.
3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours or on high-heat setting for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Serve immediately or keep warm, covered, on warm or low-heat setting for up to 2 hours.  Serve with decorative toothpicks.

Once again, I end up with more than I'm "supposed" to lol

beer-mustard sauce=yummy

WW pts:  When I made the meatballs using my Pampered Chef small scoop, I ended up with 49 meatballs as opposed to 36.  A seven meatball serving equals 10 points.  A three meatball serving equals 5 points.


I will preface this by stating that I really don't like bratwurst...at all...as in I take something else to my dad's sometimes if I'm going over there and that is what they are planning to serve. (Or I just eat a bun and pray nobody notices that there isn't any meat in it lol).  As a result, my expectations weren't really all that high.  I really only made them because I figured that Nick-Nick and the girls (Amelia, since Brooke Lynne is with her dad this weekend) would like them and it seemed like an appropriate item to make on Super Bowl Sunday.  I am pleased to report that I was very pleasantly surprised by this.  The meatballs didn't taste too brat-y since it was mixed with ground sirloin as well and the beer-mustard sauce you pour over them in the slow cooker was very flavorful.  I will definitely be adding this to my fall/winter rotation, but may not make them again until I finish working my way through the other meatball recipes I want to try!

*Better Homes and Gardens Creative Slow Cooker Recipes