Cranberry Appetizer Meatballs

Hello! After a 2 week hiatus I am back in full swing. I have long been in search of a meatball recipe that makes meatballs that taste like the ones you can buy in the freezer at the grocery store. I thought this one might have been it, because it has lots of seasonings for flavor, and there are a couple of different sauces listed with it, so it seemed like it would be versatile, but alas, this is not my meatball recipe. It still ended up tasting like hunks of hamburger with just a bit of flavor. They did smell good while they were cooking, but that's all. Anyway this is from the cookbook Mom got me & Jess both for Christmas, the Taste of Home cookbook (pg 31 for interested parties). It wasn't like a waste of time or food or anything, just not exactly what I was looking for.

Cranberry Appetizer Meatballs
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced (see how handy my garlic press is?)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 pounds ground beef

Cranberry Sauce:
1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
1 bottle (12 oz) chili sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced (see again?)

In a large bowl, combine first nine ingredients (through hamburger) and mix well. Crumble ground beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls. Place meatballs on a rack in a shallow baking pan (they don't tell you to cover the pan with foil, but you definitely should. I didn't, and my pan is still soaking at this minute because I couldn't scrub it off). Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 15 minutes or until no longer pink (my meatballs were bigger than theirs, so mine took closer to half an hour). Transfer to a slow cooker or chafing dish (or plop them in the sauce, which you should make while they're baking...that's what I did). Combine sauce ingredients in sauce pan; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over meatballs. Serve warm.

So, the kids actually really liked these. Emma said they were the best meatballs ever. Sam liked them too. And Steve lapped them up. I thought they were pretty good, too, but just not what I am looking for. Maybe it's my fault...maybe I can't mix the ingredients as thoroughly as a factory can...maybe I should use my big super cool mixer next time...Hmmmmm