Pioneer Woman's BBQ Meatballs

I love Pioneer Woman. I read her blog daily, and I covet how user-friendly and attractive it is. I covet her cooking skills, her photography, her beautiful home, her life -- all of it. I adore her.

That being said, although I've printed out pretty much every single one of her recipes, I'd never actually made one of her dishes before. But when I saw the meatballs she posted last week, I knew I had to make them immediately. They sounded very similar to my grandma's vegetarian meatballs (well, not really meatballs, I guess -- what would you call them? Veggieballs?), which are my ultimate comfort food. I'm a sucker for that ketchup topping, no matter how old-fashioned it is.

To borrow a word from P-Widdy herself -- DADGUM, these were delicious! I was tempted to add a few more things to the meatball mixture -- garlic, some parsley -- but I'm soooo glad I didn't, because those ingredients are completely unnecessary. These taste just like little meatloaves. I served mine over mashed potatoes, which made them look like a hot mess, but also probably made them taste even better. Joe ate his in a sandwich, and even though he's not crazy about ketchup, he loved these. I brought myself a sandwich for lunch, and I hope 11:30 comes quickly because those delicious little meatballs are already calling my name.

Pioneer Woman's BBQ Meatballs
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

For the meatballs:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Plenty of ground black pepper

For the sauce:

1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar (I used brown sugar)
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
4 to 6 tablespoons onion
Dash of hot sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

3. Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

4. Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

5. Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.