Friday, November 19, 2010

Meatball Subs


Happy Friday everyone!  I'm definitely ready for the weekend.  This weekend, especially, because it's Andy's Birthday!  He'll be 32 years old!  He definitely doesn't look his age, and sure as hell doesn't act it either!  But I love him either way and have some special things planned for him!  I'll definitely update you guys on Monday!

Oh, and as a side note, I won a contest!  "FoodieBlogRoll's Comment to Win a Mello's Chourico Sausage Sample Pack" contest, to be exact!  So soon, I'll be enjoying a sample pack of Mello's hot chourico, chourico franks, and buffalo chicken chourico!  I'm pretty stoked and can't wait to see what crazy recipes I come up with using them!  Definitely check out their site if you're a sausage fan... they've got some good stuff!  And I wasn't paid to say that, just stating my honest opinion!

The Foodie Blog Roll Contests: Winner!


As a kid, my favorite sub at Subway was the Meatball Sub.  I loved the melty cheese, soft bread, and what I thought to be delicious meatballs (I definitely have a different take on what delicious meatballs are made out of these days, but oh well!).  So I figured I'd bring back an old favorite and do my little take on a childhood fave.


Ingredients:
Adapted from A Food Lover's Journey's recipe


Meatballs:


1/2 lb. ground beef (I used the last of my homemade ground beef)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Tomato Sauce:

3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup red wine

1 french baguette


Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, garlic, green onions, water chestnuts, egg, sugar, salt, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper.  Mix well.  Form small meatballs and place on a baking sheet.



Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until meatballs have started to brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Don't worry if they're cooked through, because they will finish cooking in the tomato sauce.

In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil under medium high heat.  Add garlic cook until fragrant, about a minute or two.  Add tomatoes and cook until juices are starting to bubble, about 2-3 minutes.  Add tomato paste, chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, red wine, salt, and pepper.  Let simmer for 2-3 more minutes and then add meatballs, along with any juices.

Simmer meatballs in the tomato sauce, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until they are fully cooked.  The sauce should be reduced and somewhat thick.  Season with salt and pepper, if needed, and remove from heat.


Cut the baguette into sandwich-sized portions and slice open lengthwise.  Spoon a few meatballs onto baguette and top with sauce.  You could definitely add some mozzarella cheese in there too, but I chose just to have it plain and enjoy it's simplicity!  Serve with chips along side, or feel free to have a different side!


This was definitely delicious!  Different from Subway's version, that's for sure!

What were your favorite childhood eats?



Enjoy the weekend guys!

32 comments:

  1. I loved meatball subs when I was growing up. These look just as delicious as the ones I remember. That french bread also looks like a good idea instead of the softer rolls we used to use.

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  2. Ooooo girl, that looks a-freakin-mazing!! :D Love me some proper meatball subs!

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  3. Looks amazing! I used to eat these all the time growing up!!

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  4. I can't believe you actually won the Foodie Blogroll! I was starting to think no one actually won. Congrats. That sandwich makes me hungry and it's not dinner time yet.

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  5. amazing meat balls! wish to try this in ground lamb meat:)

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  6. Lucky you won a contest. This way of enjoy bagutte sound so good. Have A nice weekend ahead

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  7. Hi, thanks for visiting my blog. It's 11:18am here and I'm already hungry looking at this! Yum!

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  8. I so enjoyed ordering the meatball subs at the Italian restaurants we visited growing up. This looks better than anything I ever got. Happy early birthday to Andy. I hope you two have a wonderful weekend of fun, celebration and love!

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  9. yummm!!! i LOVE the meatball subs at Subway...and Monet's right...this one looks even better. I love sausage too, so I will definitely be checking out that website. :) Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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  10. Enjoy your weekend! Happy Birthday to your hubby to be.. and winning contests is always exciting.. and meatball subs!! What a great way to usher in the weekend :)

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  11. Happy birthday to your fiance and congrats on winning the contest! Nothing like a delicious meatball sub, and this one looks great :)

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  12. Congratulations!!!
    Me too, I Iove meatball subs. It's been a long time since I made some and I have tome meatballs in the feezer; will be on my menu soon.

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  13. You know the phrase 'I love that like a fat kid loves cake?' Well, there's also a similar, less-known phrase that goes 'I love that like Rich loves meatball sandwiches.'

    So, I love this post.

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  14. Congratulations. Meatball subs looks delicious.

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  15. Yummy! Meatball subs is on my list of things make at home...they just hit the spot so nicely.

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  16. peggy,

    first of all, congratulation!!!

    actually i was to comment on your previous post about the wine tasting but something went wrong with my browser. erm, too bad we dont have that kind of event here (as far as I'm concerned)and I dont drink.

    but it was nice anyway, didnt you find out whose bottle won? hehehe :P

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  17. Happy Birthday to your fiancee! I never really ate the meatball subs from Subway growing up because my mom always made the BEST ones at home! So we'd eat those with crunchy Italian bread.

    But my 'guilty' childhood craving was PC white cheddar Mac and Cheese:D

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  18. Happy Birthday Andy.
    Wishing you all the best.
    Yummy meatball sandwich ♥

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  19. I love making meatballs and can't believe I never think to make it into a grinder like this! It looks delicious! I've definitely been missing out..

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  20. Wishing a Happy Birthday to your fiancee, and Congratulations on the winning in the contest.
    I would choose a homemade meatball sub over any deli, or Subway any time. Yumm...great recipe and delish sub.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  21. your right Kim doesn;t disappoint great recipe and fun blog, thanks for visiting mine

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  22. Happy Birthday to your sweet guy and congrats on the win too.This sub looks super yum..really like the idea of meatballs as compared to any deli meat

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  23. Congrats on winning the contest!! Yeah to you!! Your tasty meatballls tecipe looks so good & looks pretty too!

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  24. The sauce soaking into the bread is a lovely, lovely thing! Sounds like a fantastic sandwich.

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  25. i bet these are way better than subway's! :)

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  26. I love meatball subs! Yours looks wonderful.

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  27. wow i would never think to use water chestnuts ornfish sauce in a meatball recipe! Very cool!

    Congrats on winning the giveaway!

    AND a big happy birthday to your husband!!!

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  28. Meatball subs are the best! And I'm so glad after seeing this that I have my Mom's leftover meatballs. Enjoy your prize! And happy belated birthday to your husband!

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