This recipe lives up to its stated time because the crockpot does the work—no hidden prep lurking in the real cook time. All ingredients are stocked at every major Charlotte chain: brown sugar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, and frozen or fresh meatballs are completely standard. Cost per serving runs about $1.50–$2.00 depending on whether you buy decent beef meatballs or store-brand, making this a genuinely cheap weeknight dish. The one knock is that this is a one-note sweet-savory sauce with no vegetables or complexity—it's solid comfort food and excellent for a crowd, but not the kind of recipe that earns a regular rotation because it tastes nearly the same every time.