Italian Sausage Meatball Sandwiches

Here’s another yummy recipe from my Bon Appetit collection!  I used the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce leftover from my favorite spaghetti and meatballs recipe.  If you have fresh herbs growing in your garden, you’ll be glad to use them for this!

4 Servings:
1 pound spicy or sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
3 cups spaghetti sauce*
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, divided

4 5 to 6-inch-long pieces French baguette, split horizontally
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used cheddar because that was all I had on hand)

Preheat oven to 400F.  Mix sausage, 1/2 up marinara, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons parsley, and 2 tablespoons basil in large bowl.

Using wet hands, shape mixture into 8 (or 9) meatballs.  Bring 2 tablespoons parsley, 2 tablespoons basil, remaining marinara and meatballs to boil in large skillet.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, turning often, about 20 minutes.

Place baguette bottoms on baking sheet; spread each with about 2 tablespoons sauce from skillet.  Cut meatballs in half in skillet; overlap 4 halves on each baguette bottom.  Spoon remaining sauce over meatballs, then sprinkle mozzarella over, dividing equally.  Bake until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining parsley and basil and cover with baguette tops.  Serve with plenty of napkins!

*The sauce I used leftover from my spaghetti recipe equaled about 1 1/2 cups, so I only used that much for this recipe.  It made for less sauce to pour on top of each sub, but it ended up okay.  If you prefer a more saucy meatball sub, stick with the original sauce amount.  
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, May 2007