Meatball Sub Casserole

Meatball Sub Casserole

There are several versions of meatball sub casserole online and after several attempts, we created a version we love. We now keep our Meatball Sub Casserole in our monthly dinner rotation! First off, it is super easy . . . and by now you should know “easy” is how we roll at the Pack household! Secondly, it requires very little ingredients. Third, the flavor explosion will knock you out! As you can tell in the pictures, we broke out the fine china for this dish, lol. So here goes . . .

Meatball Sub Casserole

Ingredients:

• Loaf of French bread or ours*
• Butter or margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (omitted from photo)
• 8 oz of cream cheese, softened to room-temperature (omitted from photo)
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
• 1 pound of frozen, fully cooked, thawed Italian meatballs (NOTE: it is often sold in 2 pound bags so use only 1/2 a bag.)
• 1 can Hunts Spaghetti Sauce (any flavor, our favorite is Garlic & Herb)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

*At a local discount bread outlet, they sell these loaves of pre-sliced, sesame seed covered bread for only 25 cents! I swear it is the same bread that Raising Cane’s uses! So check out your bakery discount shops. You can save a lot of money! It’s not like the baked goods are “expired” but usually within days of expiring. So we either load up and freeze the bread or we just buy the amount we need right now. It’s a great way to get those gourmet breads at the same cost of regular breads at major grocery chains!

Directions:

1. Turn oven on to broil. Slice the French bread into thick one inch slices. Butter one side lightly. Place on a cookie sheet with buttered side up. Repeat with the remainder of slices. Very lightly sprinkle the bread with garlic salt. Broil until toasty on the edges.
2. Turn oven down to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 metal or glass pan with cooking spray. Place bread (toasted side up) into your 9×13 pan. Fill it up leaving very few gaps; cut one slice into pieces if necessary to fill large gaps. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise and Italian seasoning using an electric mixer until smooth (be sure to scrape down the sides of your bowl). Using a spatula, spread the mix over all the bread slices creating a sheet of the cream cheese mix.
3. Cut the thawed meatballs in half sprinkling them all over the cream cheese mix.
4. Pour your can of spaghetti sauce evenly over the meatballs.
5. Evenly sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the spaghetti sauce.
6. Bake for 30 minutes until heated all the way through and cheese is golden and bubbly.
7. Enjoy!

full recipe: https://craftycreativekathy.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/meatball-sub-casserole