Meatballs in the Crock Pot

There is nothing spectacular about spaghetti and meatballs, but I'm posting this b/c (1.) this was a first for me...I've never made meatballs before!  Don't ask me why, it just seemed like it would be hard and time-consuming.  However, that is so not true! (2.)  It was so easy that I thought others might be interested.

If you've been reading for a while, you know that I heart my crock-pot.  I use it on a regular basis for homemade yogurt, oatmeal, chicken, apple butter, etc.  It is such a no-fuss, no-mess time-saving kitchen appliance.  (I could do an info-mercial!)  So, when I got it in my head the other day that I wanted to make homemade meatballs to go with spaghetti and I found this crock-pot (or slow-cooker, whatever you like to call it) recipe, I was stoked. 

I used a recipe from allrecipes.com for the meatballs

Homemade Meatballs in the Crock Pot

1 pound lean ground beef *I used very lean beef from Sam's Club - they have the best meat! It also keeps you from having nasty grease in your sauce

1 cup fresh bread crumbs *I used seasoned Panko b/c that's what I had on hand - next time I'll reduce the quantity however, so the meatballs are more "meaty"

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1 egg, beaten *I used 1 T. milled flax seed with 3 T. water to replace the egg

But THIS is the best part....I threw the meatballs in with my spaghetti sauce (which has no recipe since it was a bunch of stuff I threw together) in the crock-pot.  No pre-cooking required.  Let it cook on high for 6 hours (it may have not been quite that long....I think I cut it off before 6 hours was up) and I ended up with a nice thick sauce with meatballs!!  They cooked fine, held together well, and were not greasy at all (since I used very lean beef!).  They were yummy and Mr. Terrible Two ate 2 servings!!  Major feat around here. 

 I served it with this spinach salad.  We're not huge spinach fans, but this is a really good salad!

 Probably b/c it has bacon, feta cheese, and toasted almonds!  YUM!

 We had these things to top our salad.  The dressing is a super simple combo of mayo (made with olive oil), red wine vinegar and a little splenda.  Somehow, it works when put all together.  And I don't even like mayo.

My 7 y/o's plate....she had to have her meatball "on the side" :P 

So, go break out your crock-pot people!  I'm getting ready to throw some chicken in mine.  Don't ask what I'm going to do with it however.  I have no idea.  Any suggestions?!

I'm linking this recipe up at Finding Joy in My Kitchen