Chase away the late winter blues with these Hawaiian meatballs. It’s a luau on a plate.

HAWAIIAN MEATBALLS: APPETIZER OR DINNER
Is there any dish as versatile as Hawaiian meatballs?

It’s one of the top 10 appetizers on a buffet since they’re pretty easy yet very tasty too. The meatballs, pineapple and pepper are easy to skewer on a toothpick so they’re portable as well.

But you can always make a dinner out of them. Served over some rice, this all-in-one dish is the perfect supper to chase away the winter blues.

MAKING YOUR OWN IS BETTER

Making your own anything is generally better than store bought.

When it comes to these meatballs, I believe making your own is almost essential. Since most ready-made ones are Italian flavored and probably won’t blend well with the flavors in the sauce. Of course if you can find ready-made meatballs that have a more generic flavoring, that would probably work, however, I’ve never tried it so I can’t say for sure.

I’m very sure you’ll love this recipe so much that you’ll want to make it again, so why not double or even triple the meatball recipe? Then you can brown them and freeze the excess for future use.

PINEAPPLES AND PEPPERS
The amounts I give in the recipe are what I use. However, since the success is not connected to specific amounts with either the bell peppers or the pineapple, feel free to use more or less of either. So if you want to “beef it up” and extend it, I’d add more pineapple so the meat and pineapple are about equal. So in that instance, a 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks would be about right. Since there’ll be more liquid, use an additional tablespoon of cornstarch and water to thicken (if you desire the thicker sauce).