Meatball Subs for the Boys

A few weeks ago, I was home for a couple of days and to occupy myself while my boyfriend Kyle and his brother Brian were working on their "big manly trucks" down at the shop, I decided to make them dinner. I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love cooking for him, especially him, and I'm always very particular about what I choose to make for him. Which is a little silly because he'll eat just about anything. Anyways, I found this recipe for Italian Sausage Meatball Heroes on epicurious.com a while back that I had made for Kyle once before, and I knew he liked them, so it was meatball subs I chose. They're pretty quick and easy, and absolutely delicious.

Italian Meatball Subs

adapted from epicurious.com

1 pound spicy or sweet italian sausage

1 24 oz. jar of marinara sauce, divided

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, divided

1 package Italian sub buns (you can find them with the hot dog buns)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Mix sausage, 1/2 cup marinara, Parmesan and two tablespoons each of the parsley and basil together in a large bowl.

Using wet hands, form the mixture into 16 meatballs.

Bring the marinara, remaining parsley and basil and meatballs to a boil in a large skillet. Cover, reduce heat and simmer over medium-high, turning often, until the meatballs are cooked through, around 15-20 minutes.

Toast the buns in the oven for around 7 minutes.

Each bun will hold about 3 or 4 meatballs, so pile on the meatballs with a few spoonfuls of sauce and top with the mozzarella cheese. Kyle likes A LOT of cheese, so I had to be extra prepared.

I apologize for not having a photograph of the finished product, but because I'm such a good girlfriend, I just brought the fixings down to the shop and let them do the building.  All in all, it was quite a success and I highly recommend giving these a try.