Hero Sandwich

Every Tuesday the church where I work receives day old bread from a nearby grocery store. Pies, ciabatta bread, tortillas, stale doughnuts, if it is a carb, we get it at some point. Today I noticed we had wheat hoagie bread. I was instantly inspired to make a homemade meatball sub.



I have never made meatballs before. I know I know, I have been fortunate enough to have my family's cooking almost every night of my young adult life. At least I am branching out now. (Sidenote: I successfully made my own stir fry on jasmine rice last week and it was delicious.)

I used my lovely lights to demonstrate how I went about making my Hero Sandwich, (apparently another word for hoagie, sub, blimpie or a grinder). Oh and I did not use a recipe of any sort for any of this, I just kind of guessed so I am sure you could do whatever you think would taste good.

Step 1: Make sure nobody is brining home pizza already (dang it). Also Make sure you have all your ingredients.
-Sub bread
-Marinara Sauce ( I thought of making my own marinara from scratch but thought I would finish off the jar that was already open)
-Mozzarella cheese
-Sea Salt and Pepper
-Basil leaves (dry or fresh)
- Italian Seasoning (or Oregano, Rosemary, Basil...etc)
-Garlic Powder
-Hamburger (you could skip all the spices and just use ground Italian sausage instead)



Step 2: Mix your spices, garlic powder, salt, pepper and hamburger together ( I don't have measurements, just use your own discretion).



Step 3: Shape your meat and spice mixture into balls. Place them on a broiler tray. (Note: Don't make them too small because they will shrink, also you may need to determine how many meatballs you will use per sandwich. I like 3 meatballs per six inch sandwich though if the meatballs are big enough you could cut them in half so the sandwich isn't so large. Yet again use your own discretion.)




Step 4: Place the tray in your oven close to the broiler (on high). Check on them frequently and turn them with tongs once they get brown on one side. Let it cook until it is brown all the way through (use a knife to cut one partly to see if it is cooked all the way). (You don't want them to be undercooked but you also don't want them overcooked because they will be very dry.)



Step 5: Add your cooked meatballs to your marinara sauce.



Step 6: Cut your bread length wise. Place your meatballs on your bread and add extra marinara sauce. Sprinkle your cheese on top. (Note: You can put the whole sandwich under the broiler for a few seconds to melt the cheese or microwave it.)



Step 7: Devour and enjoy!

P.S. After showing this to my mom she says she likes to mix half hamburger (1lb.) and half Italian sausage (1lb.). Also she adds 2 eggs and a half cup of seasoned bread crumbs and a half cup parmesan cheese. ( I thought the eggs and bread crumbs were just for meatloaf, evidently it works in this case too). Her meatballs are good, so I will definitely try it out next time.