"Meat"ball Subs

Occasionally the hubs and I crave comfort foods from before we went veg.  Comfort foods that tend to contain very few vegetables.  Macaroni and cheese.  Cheese steak.  Hot wings.  Meatball subs.  And we try not to eat them often, eating fake meat as a vegetarian seems counterproductive.  And goes against eating more "whole foods" because the imitations are so processed.  But hey, we all need to give in sometimes right?  And 22 years of meat eating leaves some remnants in a person, no matter how strong your convictions.

I had intended to try a new recipe I found on the Tasty Kitchen for lentil ricotta "meatballs" but forgot to buy ricotta, so plan B came in the works.  Using what was on hand, I made my own "meatballs".  And boy, I think they were better than the kind we buy at Trader Joe's or Giant.  They didn't mush together on the bun like the veggie kind do, and they had a pretty distinct texture if I do say so myself. 

The trick to a meatball sub staying together I learned from my friend Todd while he was preparing a sub for his kiddos.  He removed the inner breading of the roll, thus creating the perfect pocket in which the meatballs could rest. 

To make meatballs, start by mixing 1 pkg. lightlife breakfast sausage, 1 pkg boca burger meatless crumbles in ground beef style, 1 egg, 1/4 c bread crumbs.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference and patience (mine tend to get bigger as they go because i get bored of rolling).  Pan fry until browned on all sides or bake at 350 for at least 20 minutes, topping with sauce 10 minutes in.  



"Meat"ball Subs Printable Recipe

To assemble, hollow out the roll, top with provolone cheese and toast bread in oven (works well alongside meatballs while they are cooking).  

I am a sauce person, so I like mine extra-saucy.  The sauce works best on the side though, dipped into so the roll doesn't get too soggy.  The first night I served it up with some Brussels sprouts, yum, and they helped to balance out the sort-of unhealthiness of the dish. 

We had a friend over to watch the Flyers the next night, and I think he just might have forgotten while eating it that we were vegetarians.  Maybe.