me: “I’m going out with the girls tonight… 💅 💄 💃 🍷 There’s leftover meatballs and marinara in the fridge you can heat up for dinner”
him: “Okay, how do I fix it?”
me: “Just put it in a sauce pan and heat it up as you would soup, and toast the bread”
him: “Okay, I can do that”
Later that night, he is asleep 💤
me to myself:
“What is that on the drapes?”
“It looks like spaghetti sauce…
It is spaghetti sauce!”
“Yikes!”
{psst, I had to recreate the photo because I washed the spots off immediately}
“I know it wasn’t there this morning because I was photographing this table…how could it have gotten here…way over here…
I don’t see it anywhere else…how strange…how could there be 4 spots on the drapes and none anywhere else? He wouldn’t have even eaten at this table…”
It’s wet too, I hope it doesn’t stain…what could have happened?? “
Where is Columbo when you need him…. 🔑 he no doubt could solve this mystery!
Next morning
him: “How was your dinner last night?”
me: “It was so much fun, we went to Fisher’s”
him: “Was it crowded, full of spring breakers and snowbirds?”
me: “No, we had a reservation and it was really nice…how was your dinner?”
him: “It was okay…”
me: “When I got home last night I noticed some red spots on the drapes, do you know anything about that?”
him: “No idea”
me: “Funny thing, they were wet, and I’m pretty sure it was marinara sauce…”
him: “That’s weird”
me: “Did you drop the container the marinara was in? There’s a big crack in it!”
him: 😳
me: “What happened?”
him: 😆 I was embarrassed to tell you….
me: “Oh, honey, how did you get sauce all the way over there?”
him: 😓 “When I took the top off, it slipped out of my hand and sauce splattered, EVERYWHERE…”
🍅 💦 🍅 💦 🍅 💦 🍅 💦 🍅 💦 🍅 💦
him: 😩 “It went all over everything, on the ice maker, the refrigerator, all over the floor…I thought I cleaned it all up…”
me: 💋 “I feel terrible, why didn’t you tell me?? Bless your heart!”
And there it is, the Marinara Sauce Mystery is solved
Moral of the story, don’t leave your husband alone making a meatball sandwich 😉
Combine ground pork and Italian sausage, form into balls and brown in a skillet
Sauté chopped fennel and onion in a little of the sausage renderings
Place sauce, meatballs and sautéed vegetables in slow cooker and season
Make pesto and spread on the inside of bread and toast
Stuff meatballs and sauce into bread
top with cheese and broil to melt. Serve with additional sauce and pesto on top
Or serve open face in a bowl, either way, you will need a knife and fork 😋
Stuffed Marinara Meatball Subs with Basil Pesto
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage casings removed
- olive oil
Marinara Sauce
- 1 bulb fennel cored and chopped
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 jars 24 oz. each, Marinara sauce, like Classico Cabernet Marinara
- 1 T Italian seasoning divided
- pinch sugar
Pesto
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 T olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 oz shaved Parmesan
Sandwich
- French Bread loaf or submarine sandwich buns
- 4 Mozzarella Provolone or Fontina cheese slices
- 1-2 oz shaved Parmesan
Instructions
Meatballs
- Mix pork and sausage together and form into loose golf ball sized meatballs.
- Working in batches, brown meatballs in a little olive oil. Remove to paper towels and drain. Makes 36-40 meatballs, reserve half of meatballs and freeze.
Marinara Sauce
- Sauté fennel and onion in a little rendered sausage fat until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute or until fragrant.
- Place 1 jar of sauce in slow cooker. Add half of Italian seasoning and sugar.
- Add 16-20 meatballs. Top with fennel and onion.
- Add remaining jar of sauce, and sprinkle with remaining Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Pesto
- Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse. Makes about 1/2 cup
Sandwich Assembly
- Make a slit in buns or slice French bread vertically, leaving one end together.*
- Spread a little pesto inside bread and toast.
- Place bread or rolls in a baking pan and fill with meatballs and sauce.
- Top with cheese slices and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Place under broiler to melt cheese, watching carefully.
- Garnish with additional sauce and small dollops of pesto. Serves 4
Notes
You might also want to try this Meatball Sub Casserole
Mangia!
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