Shortcut to Supper

I have a confession to make: the other week, we bought meatballs. Not ground beef to make meatballs, not even meatballs from our local Italian place; frozen, mass-produced, grocery store brand meatballs.

But you know what? I'm not sorry.

Sure, there's a part of me that mourns the bygone days of spending an afternoon handcrafting a mountain of meatballs with my husband to freeze and pull out later for weeknight meals, but I know they'll come again eventually. With a clingy, mopey, teething child requiring my constant attention yesterday, I was so happy to be able to waltz into the kitchen a half hour before dinner, throw a few things into a saucepan, and turn out a perfectly respectable meal.



Sweet and Sour Meatballs

3 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 green bell pepper, sliced
16 meatballs
1 can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine pineapple juice, soy sauce, and vinegars. Mix brown sugar, corn starch, and ginger; combine with liquids and pour into a large saucepan. Add carrots and cook over medium heat until sauce begins bubbling. Add meatballs and continue to cook while sauce reduces, about 10 minutes. Add peppers and pineapple, turning the heat down to low, and simmer another 5 minutes or until peppers soften. Serve over rice.
Makes four servings.