Sweet and Sour Meatball Kebabs with Mango and Peppers

Savory meatballs, perfectly seasoned with onion, garlic and ginger, and skewered with tender-crisp bell peppers and sweet, juicy mango. But that glaze...! A sweet and tangy blend of soy, pineapple, sugar, and seasonings - ingredients that bring out the best of the kebabs while caramelizing everything to perfection.

Look at those kebabs! I mean seriously! And don't even get me started about how easy they are. Here's the truth - we just got back from vacation. Flight landed at 2, got home by 3. Ran to the grocery store at 4, home by 5. Dinner on the table (and a HUGE load of laundry done) by 6. And that includes unloading about 12 bags of groceries (we were gone for 10 days and the cupboard was BARE!). If I can pull this meal together on a whim, I know you can too. Plus, the bottled sauce is a major time-saver.

And if you've never tried roasting mango - you NEED to try this!

About the dried onion: I like to use minced dried onion in my meatballs - rather than diced fresh onion. Fresh onions have a large water content, and I don't add anything to these meatballs to capture/absorb the excess liquid (such as bread crumbs). I simply want BEEF and seasonings in my meatballs! That's why I used dried minced onion - it delivers that same great onion flavor, and adds a little toasted quality at the same time. You can find it in the spice aisle next to the onion powder.

Why add soy sauce and rice vinegar to the bottled sauce? To give the flavors a little nudge. Prepared sweet and sour sauce is thick blend of soy sauce, fruit juice (usually pineapple juice), onion, garlic, and other seasonings. It's a great one-stop-shop for flavor, but I like to jazz it up a bit. Adding a little more soy sauce sauce brings out the salty richness of the sauce. Adding a little rice vinegar creates a more tangy-sweet sauce that partners perfectly with the sweet bell peppers and mango. But I don't want to you make a special trip to the store for a bottle of rice vinegar if you don't already have it (I assume you have soy sauce). You can use any vinegar you have on hand.

I served the kebabs with rice, which was the ideal partner! If you want, you can serve them on their own for a carb-free meal, or serve them with your favorite Asian noodle, such as Chinese noodles, ramen, somen, soba, or rice noodles.

Sweet and Sour Meatball Kebabs with Mango and Peppers
You can also make the kebabs with turkey meatballs if you want! 

1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
1 teaspoon minced dried onion (sold in the spice aisle)
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 mango, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup bottled sweet and sour sauce (I used Kikkoman)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar, regular or seasoned
Fresh cilantro leaves for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the beef, dried onion, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Mix well and shape the mixture into 24 meatballs. Skewer the meatballs, bell peppers and mango on metal or wooden skewers, alternating each to make a pretty presentation.
In a small bowl, whisk together the bottled sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Remove half of the sauce and set aside (this is for serving on the side so don't dip the brush that touched raw meat in this portion).
Brush the remaining sauce all over the meatballs, peppers and mango (reserve some of the glaze for halfway through the cooking time). Roast for 10 minutes. Brush the meatballs, peppers and mango with the remaining glaze (not the glaze you reserved to serve on the side). Roast for 10 more minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the peppers and mango are caramelized.
For the sauce that will be served on the side: Heat the reserved half of the sweet and sour sauce mixture in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat. Serve the kebabs with the warm sauce on the side. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serves 4