Definitely don’t trust these meatballs to do a good job babysitting your child.

DO trust them to make your child, or anyone else you serve them to, happy.

The red onion laced sauce cooks up thick in the slow cooker. The balsamic vinegar provides a flavor zing and the provolone is a fabulous alternative to the ubiquitous mozzarella. I used a combination of marinara and pizza sauce, which I usually do when a recipe calls for jarred pasta sauce.

I couldn’t decide which of the optional toppings to sprinkle on the rolls, so I tried all three and loved them all.

Slow Cooker Meatball Sliders

Ingredients:

1 red onion cut into thin wedges
24 ounces frozen cooked Italian meatballs
24 ounces marinara sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 slices provolone cheese, quartered
4 Roma tomatoes, sliced
24 cocktail rolls, split and toasted, if desired
1 egg white, beaten
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds and/or Italian seasoning to sprinkle on rolls

Directions:

1. Place onion wedges in a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Top with frozen meatballs.

2. In a medium bowl combine marinara sauce, balsamic vinegar and crushed red pepper. Pour over meatballs.

3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 hours.

4. Brush rolls with egg white, sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds and/or seasoning. Bake for 12 minutes at 375℉ or until golden.

5. Place a cheese slice and a tomato slice on the bottom of each cocktail roll. Top each with a meatball; replace roll tops.

Recipe from bhg.com

Natasha Nicholls, a Netherlands based singer, released an EP titled ‘EP'(Ha!) last October. Two of the three songs are typical top 40ish pop, but I am really taken with the sad ballad, ‘This Broken Heart’. It’s a beautiful tune that better showcases Natasha’s lovely voice.

Check out Natasha Nicholls on her Website, where you can link to buy the music. For each copy of the EP sold, Natasha has pledged a percentage to her own recently established children’s foundation that aims to help handicapped children and orphans in Asia and Africa.

Cheers!