Sweet-Sour Meatballs Oriental
(4 servings)

Ingredients

1 cn (20 oz) pineapple chunks
Packed in juice
1 lb Lean ground beef
1 lg Egg
1 c Fresh bread crumbs, about
2 slices bread
3/4 ts Salt
1/2 ts Ground ginger
2 tb Vegetable oil
3 md Scallions, cut into 1"
Pieces,about 3/4 cups
1 cl Garlic, crushed
2 ts Cornstarch
2 tb Cider vinegar
1 tb Light brown sugar, firmly Packed
1/4 ts Ground red cayenne pepper
4 oz Fresh Chinese pea pods OR
6 oz Frozen pea pods, thawed

Instructions

Drain pineapple well, reserving 3/4 cup juice; set aside. In a large bowl, combine beef, egg, bread crumbs, salt and ginger; using hands or wooden spoon, blend well.  Shape mixture into 1 1/4" balls.  In 12" skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil; add meatballs; cook about 12 minutes, turning frequently until well browned on all sides. Using slotted spoon, remove to plate. To drippings in skillet, add scallions and garlic; cook, still over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until tender-crisp. In small bowl, stir reserved pineapple juice into cornstarch until blended and smooth; add to skillet along with vinegar, sugar and ground red pepper. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil, stirring. Boil 1 minute. Return meatballs to skillet along with pineapple chunks and pea pods; cook 3 to 5 minutes longer until heated through and pea pods are crisp-tender. Makes 4 servings.