Crockpot Teriyaki Meatballs

I mentioned in my weekly menu post that I had great crockpot recipe to share this week. We had a couple of disappointments and my husband was very weary of yet another experiment meal. I was on it this time though. I made sure everything was timed out and ready to go so we wouldn't have burning, drying, or general flavor loss.

The other bonus... I found a great teriyaki sauce to use in other recipes. I am already having visions of teriyaki chicken skewers and teriyaki beef strips with this awesome teriyaki sauce. I am pretty confident it will be my new go-to sauce for asian stir fry's as well.

In all honesty, this recipe is not your typical "throw it in and go" crockpot recipe. There are things you can do though to make it easier for the day-of, and if you have a start-time timer on your crockpot you might be able to delay the start so it's ready for you when you get home (I don't have this super cool function on mine, so I don't know how it all works).

The ease for me was that I could put it together around 2pm before I go to get everyone from school and then it's ready when we get home after gymnastics class in the evening. I also made the rice just before leaving and left it on the stove top to "rest". Worked great! Light, fluffy rice warm and ready to eat with this awesome meal!

Crockpot Teriyaki Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork sausage
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 egg
1 Tbs EVOO
1 1/2 c water
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c honey
1/2 c lite soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp canola oil
green onion for garnish

In a bowl, mix together the beef, pork, bread crumbs and egg. Roll into 1-inch meatballs. Heat a sauté pan with the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to med-high heat. brown the meatballs on all sides. Careful not to let your pan get too hot as it will burn the meatballs unevenly. Once browned (but not cooked all the way thru), set them aside on a paper towel to drain and cool.
***This is something you can do ahead of time in many different ways. You can do it the day before and save them in the refrigerator, you can make them a few weeks in advance and keep them in the freezer, or you can buy pre-made frozen meatballs to use. ***

Meanwhile, in a saucepan. Pour water and cornstarch in and turn on the heat to med-high. Add the brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, garlic, and canola oil. Heat to a simmer and allow to simmer while stirring for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Place the meatballs in the crockpot, placing them evenly across the bottom. Pour the sauce over them, making sure to cover all of them. Cook for 2 hours on high, 4 hours on low (depending on your crockpot).

**This recipe was adapted from The Kitchen Wife. I found it on Pinterest, and highly recommend you check it out.**