Chile Colorado Meatballs

We were feeling like having a bit of Chile Colorado tonight, but weren't looking forward to the hours of watching over it would require with cubed beef; and besides, all the beef was frozen. So I looked in the freezer to see what I could come up with, and hey -- there were meatballs in there! The resulting Chile Colorado Meatballs were "very" tasty, and in addition to being a great dinner item I think will make a really nice potluck and/or appetizer dish in the future. Here's the quick and easy recipe I created for our crockpot.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 2  cups boiling water
• 2  teaspoons beef bouillon granules (See *)
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2  tablespoons  dried onion flakes or 1⁄4 cup  minced fresh onion
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 2  teaspoons dried ancho chile powder
• 1  teaspoon cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cider vinegar
•  Tabasco sauce or   your favorite  hot sauce, to taste (I used somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 tsp, cause I'm a whimp)
•  salt and pepper, to taste
• 1  lb  good quality frozen  meatballs

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the boiling water and bouillon granules until dissolved.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Pour all into either a crockpot and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours (or low for 5 hours), or a large casserole and bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes.
4. Enjoy! Serve as part of a Mexican-style combination dinner of enchiladas or tamales, rice, and refried beans- the sauce goes really well with other dishes on the plate.
5. *Note:I prefer using 1 tsp of Maggi Chicken with Chipotle bouillon cube and 1 tsp of Chicken and Tomato bouillon cube instead of 2 tsp beef bouillon; please note that most Maggi bouillon cubes contain 2 tsps, so you'll be using half a cube.
6. Another note: also, you can add another tsp of bouillon and cup of water to make more sauce if you want to add another pound of meatballs for more servings.