Get ready: Grab a 4-quart slow cooker – don’t use a big 7-quart one or the sauce will spread too thin and burn your ingredients ready.

Mix the glaze: Put your cranberry sauce chunks, BBQ sauce, sugar, and juice in your crock. Give it a good whisk until it’s fairly smooth. If a few cranberry lumps stay, don’t sweat it; they’ll melt.

Add the meat and slow cook: Gently stir in your thawed meatballs until they’re all coated, then put the lid on and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.

The secret finish: If you’re serving these on toothpicks as an appetizer, take the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cooking, and switch it to HIGH. This lets the steam out so the sauce thickens up into a real glaze that clings to the meat. Just watch it so it doesn’t scorch. If you’re serving this over mashed potatoes for dinner, just leave the lid on the whole time so you have more ‘gravy.’

Serve: Give them one last gentle stir so every meatball is shiny and coated, then serve them right out of the pot with chopped parsley if you’d like.