Meat is delicious. In ball form, it's delicious and convenient. Whether on a sub or in spaghetti, we love meatballs. And if you're planning a game day get together, they're excellent to throw on a platter for a crowd.

New York Times Bestselling author, Stephanie Ashcraft, has a new cookbook coming out called 101 Things to Do with Meatballs that's full of ridiculously easy to make recipes you can toss together quickly. (They did a promo where they gave away 10,000 copies of the book for free, and they've already given them all away. Next time I'll get more advanced warning.)

The recipes are based on using bags of frozen, fully cooked meatballs (she uses the ones from Farm Rich) that mean you don't have to stand around balling up meat all day, and you're eating in no time.

Here are three quick appetizers that are perfect for this weekend's in-house tailgate.

Meatball Jalapeno Poppers
Makes 26 pieces
13 Jalapenos, stemmed
1 package (8 oz) Cream cheese, softened
13 Frozen, fully cooked meatballs, thawed
13 slices (1 lb) Sliced bacon, cut in half

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice each pepper in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and rinse out. (Note: use gloves when doing this to prevent irritation.) Spread cream cheese in each jalapeno half. Cut meatballs in half. Place each meatball half, cut side down, over cream cheese. Wrap a half slice of bacon around each stuffed jalapeno and secure with a toothpick. Place on baking sheet and bake 25-30 minutes, or until bacon is browned. Serve immediately on a platter.


Bacon Wrapped Meatballs
Makes 16 pieces
8 Slices uncooked bacon, cut in half
16 frozen, fully cooked meatballs, thawed Honey mustard
Barbecue sauce
Ranch dressing

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wrap a half slice of bacon around each meatball and secure with a toothpick. Place on a baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes, or until bacon is crisp. Serve with honey mustard, barbecue sauce and ranch dressing for dipping.


Feta Meatballs with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
Makes 4-6 servings
26 (1 lb) Frozen, fully cooked meatballs
1 container (4 oz) Crumbled tomato basil feta cheese

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce:
1 1/2 cups Nonfat plain yogurt
4 oz Low-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup Diced, seedless cucumber
1 teaspoon Minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons Dried dill seasoning
1 teaspoon Fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place meatballs in the bottom of an 8x8-inch pan with 1/2 inch of water and bake for 40 minutes. While meatballs cook, place all yogurt ingredients in a blender or food processor and and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce in a bowl dipping and refrigerate until ready to serve. Place baked meatballs in a serving platter and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve immediately with toothpicks and the yogurt sauce on the side.