Sweet & Sour Sauce

My dad doesn't like Chinese food, but he does like sweet & sour meatballs. His favorite sauce is Contadina's, but that is so hard to find you practically have to order it from the manufacturer.

When he wanted to serve sweet & sour meatballs at a gathering, I went on the hunt for a good sauce recipe. Found one in the recipe box, care of his mother's need to save every recipe she had ever liked. Titled "Meat Balls Oriental", so you know it's vintage, the meatball part was nothing special. You can do almost as well with frozen unseasoned meatballs. The sauce didn't need much tinkering with to be at least as good as any out of a can. Plus, it's super easy and you probably have all the ingredients hanging around.

1 yellow onion, cut into small chunks

1 green bell pepper, cut into small chunks

1 Tb oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 C catsup

1/4 C white vinegar

1 13 oz can pineapple chunks

1-1/2 Tb cornstarch

1. Drain pineapple, reserving liquid. Combine liquid and cornstarch and set aside.

2. Sauté onion and green pepper in oil until onion starts to soften but is not completely cooked.

3. Add catsup, vinegar, and salt. Bring almost to a boil. Stir in pineapple chunks.

4. Add pineapple juice to sauce and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce is thickened and clear.

Makes about 3 cups

Difficulty rating  π