Vegetarian Meatball Submarine Sandwiches

Too few people understand a really good sandwich. --James Beard

After some time at the beach and some really rich food...I know we are craving homemade cooking and fresh, healthier food--but I could not resist making a hearty sandwich for dinner. We loved it SO muchthat I had to share in case anyone else is looking for a dinner idea that pleases all ages. You don't need a fork for this dinner either. But get some napkins handy just in case.

You can make the vegetarian meatballs ahead of time--the meatballs themselves are vegan and if you use vegan cheese, this will make for a great vegan meal. There are a THOUSAND recipes for vegetarian meatballs and you can even use frozen meatballs, but I tried my own and they were very good--feel free to experiment with them. It's really hard to mess up using Morningstar Meal Starters.....You can find these products in the freezer section of your grocery store.

We served these hearty meatball sub sandwiches with pears, strawberries, and popcorn chips (yes, they're so good--get them at Costco!).

VEGETARIAN MEATBALL SUBMARINE SANDWICHES

Makes 3-4 big sandwiches or 6-8 half sandwiches

For the meatballs:

• 1 (12 oz) pkg. Morningstar crumblers, defrosted
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs (I used panko style)
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ~3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (can be skipped if you don't have it)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce (I used low sodium)
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. dried minced onions
• 1/8 tsp. gound coriander seed
• Lawry's seasoning salt & ground pepper, to taste--so, a few dashes of each
• ~2 tsp. (or more) of flour (I used white whole wheat)

 To serve:

• 3-4 whole wheat sub rolls
• 6-8 slices of provolone cheese
• ~1-2 cups marinara sauce of your choice
• Italian seasoning (optional)

To make the meatballs: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. The flour is used more as a binding agent so if you feel you do not need it, you do not have to use it. Roll the meatball mixture out into meatballs--I wanted bigger meatballs, so I ended up with 13-14 meatballs. If you roll them smaller, you will end up with more meatballs.

Place them on a lined baking sheet and spray them with olive oil cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes and then try to flip them somewhat. Continue to bake them some more for about 8-10 more minutes. They should look crispy from the outside.

To assemble the sandwiches: Slowly heat the marinara sauce over the stovetop or in the microwave (remember to add a paper towel on top so the sauce doesn't splatter all over your microwave). Place 2 pieces of provolone cheese (can cut them in half to make it easier to lay into the sandwiches) into each sandwich--you may only want to use 1 piece for a half sandwich. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, if desired. Broil until cheese melts and bread starts to get crispy and then take them out.

Spread the warmed marinara sauce on the other half of the bread (the one not covered with cheese) and lay your meatballs into the sandwich--you can reheat your meatballs in the microwave if they have cooled down. Serve open faced for the eater to close or close the sandwich on your own and serve.

Enjoy!! These sandwiches are marvelous and SO easy!