Toasted Pizza Meatball Subs

We were in college. It was my freshman year. It was the third date. 

The guy took me to Subway before heading downtown for the night. My favorite sub on the menu has always been the meatball marinara. That gooey, sloppy, pile of a zillion calories had my heart. I always order it with a heaping pile of lettuce, provolone cheese, a pile of olives, and an offensive amount of parmesan cheese. It was my style back then, and I ordered it almost every time I went to Subway. When I stepped up to the line to order my sandwich with my date, I had 2 choices: 

#1: Order my beloved meatball sub (spilling all over my shirt, dropping down my face and all over my hands, and my dignity flying out the window), and enjoy the heck out of it. 

#2: Skip the meatball sub, try my luck at some other mediocre sandwich, keep my shirt clean, and look like a lady the rest of the night. 

Little did I know this sandwich choice would be so significant to my future with this guy... 

I decided to take the safe route, and stick with the ham and cheese. He went with the turkey. 

We started talking while I carefully ate my sandwich like a lady. After a little while into our sandwiches, he admitted that he had to seriously refrain from ordering his usual favorite meatball marinara because he didn't want to make a mess eating it.

Needless to say, when we both went to Subway the next time, we ordered our favorite meatball subs, and didn't even blink when it was all over our hands and faces. It was just meant to be.

This sub is a little echo of that story - the meatballs can be homemade, or fresh from the freezer (hah!). The part you definitely don't want to skip is the toasting. Toast the heck out of that sandwich, kids. Layer it with cheese, spicy pepperoni to add some flavor, and top it all with a little bit of fresh basil. This is definitely the perfect easy weeknight dinner. Napkins are a must. 

Toasted Pizza Meatball Subs

ingredients:

hoagie rolls, sliced in half

pepperoni

thick slices of mozzarella

fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

tomato basil marinara sauce

leftover Italian meatballs or frozen meatballs (turkey or chicken meatballs work great, too)

method: 

1. In a large pot, stir together meatballs and marinara sauce. Cover with lid, and heat through on medium heat, about 10 minutes (if they're frozen, they make take up to 20 minutes). 

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a cookie sheet, lay out hoagie roll slices and place 4-5 meatballs on one side of the rolls with a little sauce. Layer with a slice of mozzarella, and then a few pepperoni slices. 

3. Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Turn heat to a low broil. Broil for a couple minutes (watch them) until bread is toasted. Remove from oven. 

4. Top with fresh basil and serve hot.