The man's favorites

By request I'm writing you about Michael's favorite.

Not a week goes by without a request for Meatball Subs. Sometimes days after the last batch another order is put in. Yeah, they're that good.

I'll admit I took this recipe off the internet. But if I didn’t I'd be throwing in the most random crap and I don't even think you would consider them meatballs. I've also tweeked the recipe a bit so it's not totally jacked. I have, however, experimented different ways to go about making the sandwich as a whole. The first time I ever made them I made homemade sauce as well. If you have the time, make it. It's really good. But there is no shame in buying a jar of pasta sauce; it’s quick and not as messy. (Trust me the homemade way is MESSY) I would recommend Classico Fire-Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pasta Sauce or their Four Cheese. And you can use any cheese you want: Swiss, Provolone, Monterey Jack, ANYTHING! Explore the world of cheese! And when it comes to the bread, Frak It! I just buy French rolls that come in a six pack. Maybe one day when I have HOURS of time to make bread, which by the way I find thee most difficult thing to bake, I'll make my own French rolls. But for now I am sticking to store bought.

So there are three ways you can cook your meat balls.

1. Cook them in the oven. It's fast and you can prep or cook something else while they are in there. The only down side is I HATE cleaning the pans afterwards. They need to be soaked, and no sink it the size of a pan, so I can either soak half of it for a bit them flip it, but that is time consuming. OR I can fill the pan with soap and water and leave it on the counter. But that just leaves the opportunity for the cats to jump on the counter and drink out of it...gross. I'm rambling.

2. Fry then in a pan. I think this is the EH option. You have to watch it and move them around and blah blah blah. Also you get hot grease sprayed at you. Horrible. But to each their own, maybe you like that. Weird.

3. This is my favorite: CROCKPOT!!! I will ALWAYS advocate using a crock pot. It's the most amazing cooking invention to date. So with the crockpot you can choose to simmer over night or just hours before. I would suggest at least 5 hours of crockpot time. But when I do use my crockpot I do it over night. This gives the sauce enough time to really soak into the meatball, leaving it an all-around juicer meatball. The sauce tend to thin out a little when you crockpot it so save a third of you sauce in the fridge and when it comes time to serve add it in to thicken it up.

So yeah, that's my thoughts on meatballs.

RECIPE TIME!!!!!!

What you will need for the meatballs, it makes about 25 meatballs:

1 pound ground beef

· 1 cup bread crumbs (I get Italian bread crumbs, come it’s a meatball!)

· 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

· 2 cloves garlic, minced

· 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

· 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

· 1 egg, beaten

· 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

· 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

· 1 pinch salt, or to taste

· And slices of whatever cheese you want.

In a bowl, mix by hand (it's going to feel gross and weird, but suck it up!) the ground beef, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into meatballs, and place in a baking dish, pan, or CROCKPOT!

Using the oven it's 15 to 20 minutes. At the fifteen minute mark cut one in half, if it looks cooked you are done.

Stovetop: it's up to you however long it's going to take it's usually 25-30 minutes. Boo.

CROCKPOT! It cooks itself. Done.

Sauce:

3/4 cup chopped onion

· 5 cloves garlic, minced (SO MUCH GARLIC :-))

· 1/4 cup olive oil

· 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

· 2 teaspoons salt

· 1 teaspoon white sugar

· 1 bay leaf

· 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

· 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

· 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Bring heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and simmer 30 minutes more. Then it is ready to serve!

I like to spread a little garlic butter (I like to and garlic to anything I can) on the bread lay the cheese on and stick them in the broiler on low for 5 minutes. Toast it up a bit!

You'll love them trust me.

Keep on Mixin'

J-Bolt