Meatball Pizza Sandwich Casserole Recipes

SUNNY'S EASY CHEESY MEATBALL SUB CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and green pepper, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the meatballs, marinara sauce and cheese. Add the cooked onion and pepper mixture. Mix to combine, then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with the crushed croutons. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. (If the topping starts to get too brown, loosely cover with foil toward the end of the bake.)

MEATBALL 'PIZZA' CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Prepare Easy Basic Meatballs as directed, except use 1 lb. each extra-lean ground beef and ground pork, shape the meat mixture into 24 (2-inch) meatballs, and increase the baking time to 15 min. or until meatballs are done (160ºF).
• Unroll 1 pizza crust; press lightly onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray; spread with half the pizza sauce. Top with meatballs, arranging in 4 rows of 6 meatballs each. Cover with remaining sauce; top with peppers, shredded cheese and Parmesan.
• Unroll remaining pizza dough; place over pizza. Pierce with large fork at 2-1/2-inch intervals to allow steam to escape.
• Bake 20 min. or until golden brown.

MEATBALL SUB CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Heat garlic bread with spread side up on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until warm and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring spaghetti sauce to a boil in a large pot. Place frozen meatballs into sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meatballs are heated through, about 20 minutes.
• Tear garlic bread into bite-size pieces and spread into bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce and meatballs over garlic bread, coating bread with sauce and distributing meatballs evenly. Spread mozzarella cheese over top in a layer, followed by a layer of Parmesan cheese.
• Bake casserole until cheese has melted, 20 to 25 minutes.

MEGA MEATBALL PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• On a round pizza stone or pan or on a rectangular baking sheet, using flour or cornmeal to dust the dough, spread out the dough to form your crust. If you are using a baking sheet, drizzle pan with extra-virgin olive oil then set crust in place. Poke the pizza dough in several areas with the tines of a fork. Drizzle the dough with extra-virgin olive oil then season it with finely chopped rosemary and a little salt. Place in oven 10 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the meat. Brown and crumble meat a couple of minutes, then add onions and garlic. Season the meat with salt and pepper then work in the tomato paste using the back of a wooden spoon to combine. Stir in the cheese, parsley and oregano.
• Remove pizza crust from oven and top with meat. Arrange cheese over the pizza, working to edges. Return the pizza to the oven and bake until cheese is golden, another 10 to 12 minutes.

DECONSTRUCTED MEATBALL SANDWICH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Using a large dinner fork, combine the ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, onions, Parmesan cheese, parsley, milk, 1 tablespoon of the tomato paste (reserve the rest of the paste for the sauce), oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt and black pepper until thoroughly mixed.
• Form the mixture into meatballs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
• Place the meatballs on the prepared pan, not touching each other, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through. Set aside. (Yield: About 54 meatballs.)
• Place a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the olive oil and minced onions. Cook until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent.
• Add the pressed garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 more seconds. Do not let the garlic brown.
• Add the remaining tomato paste, the tomato sauce, water, oregano and basil.
• Whisk until the tomato paste is incorporated.
• Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will be a rich, thick sauce. Adjust thickness to your personal tastes by adding water, a little at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. (Yield: About 4 cups of sauce.)
• Spread one side of each slice of bread with mayonnaise.
• Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder and salt and add diced tomatoes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Spread the baked meatballs in the center of a 9- by 13-inch glass casserole dish, leaving space around the perimeter for the garlic bread.
• Top with the tomato sauce.
• Arrange the garlic bread standing upright on end around the edge of the casserole dish.
• Sprinkle the casserole evenly with the crushed red peppers (if desired), mozzarella, Italian-blend and Parmesan cheeses; and finish with chopped parsley. Make sure the cheeses and parsley cover the garlic bread as well as the meatballs.
• Bake for about 20 minutes or until the garlic bread is toasted.
• Serve the meatballs partially covering the garlic bread with extra tomato sauce on the side for dipping.
• Serve with a side salad to round out the meal.

MEATBALL SUB SANDWICH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• In a bowl, combine onions, crumbs & cheese; add beef and mix well.
• Shape beef into 1-inch balls; place on rimmed cookie sheet; bake for 15-20 minutes (no longer pink in center); turn oven down to 350.
• Meanwhile, arrange bread cubes in an UNgreased 13x9 pan.
• Combine cream cheese, mayo, seasonings, and S&P; spread over bread.
• Sprinkle one cup Mozzarella cheese over the cream-cheese mixture layer.
• Combine sauce, water & garlic; add meatballs and gently mix; pour this over the cheese layer.
• Sprinkle remaining Mozzarella.
• Bake (uncovered) at 350 for 30 minutes (top will be bubbly and quite fragrant).
• OPTIONS: Use half Cheddar and half Mozzarella; try some sliced black olives; sprinkle some grated zucchini in for added nutritional value (and get a few veggies past the kids!--it's the secret ingredient).

ITALIAN MEATBALL SANDWICH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
• Mix together onions, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and ground beef. Roll into 1 inch diameter balls, and place in a baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until beef is no longer pink. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Italian seasoning and black pepper until smooth. Spread this mixture over each bread cube. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated mozzarella cheese.
• In a large bowl, mix together spaghetti sauce, water, and garlic. Gently stir in meatballs. Pour over the bread and cheese mixture in the baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until heated through.