Coco: Tho & Anthony rave about this dish every year at the office Thanksgiving potluck… so here it is, saved for them, forever.

The Frugal Girls | February 2010 by Heidi

Ingredients

• 26 ounces Fully-Cooked Frozen Meatballs (optional Easy Meatball Recipe below) or use a bag of store-bought meatballs (approx. 26 oz.)
• 14 ounces Jellied Cranberry Sauce (1 can)
• 12 ounces Heinz Chili Sauce

Optional Easy Meatball Recipe

Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds Ground Beef
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup Water
• 6 ounces Stuffing Mix

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a cookie sheet with foil, and spray with non-stick Cooking Spray.
• Mix together ground beef, eggs, water, and dry stuffing mix, until thoroughly combined.
• Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on cookie sheet.
• Bake for approx. 17 minutes, or until done {160 degree internal temp}

Preparation

Combine Cranberry Jelly and Chili Sauce in a bowl, and stir until well combined.

Based upon your preferences, you can alter the proportions of cranberry jelly (sweet) and chili sauce (tangy).

Add frozen meatballs to Crockpot and cover with sauce mixture.

Heat on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Once they’re nice and hot, let simmer on LOW or WARM setting, and serve straight from your slow cooker. ENJOY!

Coco: This is a great recipe to experiment with. We mostly stuck to the general ingredients list, but used black beans instead of refried beans and included cream of mushroom soup and corn (oh and no olives). We ended up throwing in a hodge podge of canned foods like Rotel and it tasted yummy! The perfect meal for when you have not gone grocery shopping in awhile.

Taste of Home Ground Beef Cookbook | 1999

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 2 tablespoons hot salsa
• 12 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 1 jar (16 ounces) mild salsa
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups (16 ounces) Daisy Brand® Sour Cream
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in beans, chilies, taco seasoning and hot salsa.

In a greased 13×9-in. baking dish, layer a third of the noodles and meat mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Combine mild salsa and water; pour over top. Cover and bake 1 hour or until heated through.

Top with sour cream, olives, onions, tomatoes if desired and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting.

1 serving: 521 calories, 28g fat (16g saturated fat), 110mg cholesterol, 909mg sodium, 36g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 3g fiber), 29g protein.