Ham Balls.

I know it might not sound Norwegian, but I've traced this recipe to the end and the end is Norway. It's Elie's week and her request was Ham Balls. So I decided to backfill the country to fit her meal request. Well, the trail took me to many possible destinations. I first thought we were going to Holland because the recipe was linked to the Pennsylvania Dutch. How easy, I thought. Well, a day before our week began, I realized that the PA Dutch aren't dutch at all. Their name stems from the Germans. "Deutsch". It appears that the german-speaking immigrants settled in PA. And the name somehow translated to Dutch. Scrambling, I quickly turned to Sweden but knew they weren't the official Swedish Meatball that we are all familiar with. So I ended in Norway. And that's my story.

Monday night was a busy night. I prepped the meatballs, all 6 pounds worth, so they would be ready to pop in the oven for Tuesday's meal. Come to think of it, I still have meatballs in the basement freezer that I need to pack in zip locks for future use. Anyway, they are really easy to make, just time consuming with the amount I made and the steps involved. Worth the effort. I now have a meal in the freezer waiting for busy September to begin and a bunch of appetizer size balls to have on hand for all the parties we're invited to (a girl can dream)....

So here's the recipe from my foodie pal, Deidra P. They made everyone in the house very happy.

Ham Balls
3 lbs. ground ham
2 lbs. ground pork
- or - 5 lbs Ham loaf from Fareway!
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
2 cups crushed graham crackers (some add more up to 1 1/2 boxes)
2 cups milk

Sauce
2 cans tomato soup
2 tsp dry mustard
3/4 cup cider vinegar
2 cups brown sugar (1 lb)

Stir and simmer the sauce for an hour. Mix and form balls. Place in 2+ 9 x 13 glass pans. Pour the sauce over. Bake 1 hr. 15 minutes @ 350 degrees. Watch carefully-may need a little water so they don't burn.

I made one pan. Froze the balls and remaining sauce separately to save space in the freezer. I will make another batch of sauce for my appetizer batch once I get invited to that party:)

Enjoy-