Chicken Parmesan Meatball Sandwiches

When I texted my Mom about this concoction, she asked "Is that one meal, or three?" I explained it a bit more and she said "So yeah, three." I promise it's NOT as complicated as it appears. There are a bunch of steps, but they're simple. And worth it. And your mouth will be watering by the time it's ready!

I was supposed to make Buffalo Chicken French Bread, but for some reason it just didn't sound good that night. Well, a very good reason, actually, all those weeks of antibiotics left my tummy a bit grumbly, and buffalo sauce doesn't play well with a grumbly tummy. So I perused the pantry, pored over Pinterest, went to the store, and came home with a recipe in mind... and proceeded to change it. First I re-worked the meatballs. Then thought: "what if I change this... And what if we try this instead...?" And proceeded to create this work of genius that literally had me dancing with joy (and The Geologist drooling) by the time we beheld the finished product. It was a blast. I haven't been this creative in months!!

Chicken Parmesan Meatball Sandwiches (Family Style)
Printable Recipe

1 lb ground chicken (you can do this with sausage, ground pork, ground beef or any combination!)
1 slice white sandwich bread, crusts removed
3 Tb buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

fresh mozzarella
pizza/spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade)
1 loaf french bread

Tear your slice of bread into tiny bits into a bowl. Pour buttermilk over the bread bits and mash together with a fork into a paste. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients and mix well. Form large meatballs: a little larger than a golf ball. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Cut your loaf of french bread in half lengthwise (making a top and bottom, like a giant hoagie bun). Pull out some of the middle of the bread on each side, making each one a bit of a bowl shape. (This gives you a better bread to meatball ratio, and holds the meatballs better!) Butter generously and place on a baking sheet.

Place in the oven under the broiler. Keep an eye on it, and pull it out when the middle gets lightly toasted, before the edges burn.

Place as many of your meatballs as you can fit in the bowl of the bottom piece of bread.

Cover with slices of fresh mozzarella cheese. (you can use the cheap block stuff if you want, but I promise the fresh stuff is infinitely meltier and more fabulous)

Place back in the oven under the broiler to melt the cheese (keep an eye on the edges of your bread again!) Pull out when melted and getting little browned bits on top.

Cover with your sauce.

 Place the top piece of bread on, and cut the whole thing into sections, as big or little as you want your sandwiches. Serve hot!

This one recipe fed our family of 4, our home teacher who dropped by (actually, he had an appointment, we forgot he was coming!!) with 2 sandwiches left over. So yeah, it's pretty filling. And awesome. Rave reviews all around, including the home teacher!

It's truly a thing of beauty. Tender, juicy, flavorful meatballs covered in stretchy, creamy, chewy mozzarella...

Covered in tangy, savory tomato sauce (homemade in this case) on soft, toasty french bread!

Absolutely delicious. And so much fun to invent!! Oh, and The Geologist would like to add that if you warm up the leftovers in the oven, they're awesome the next day as well! He also thinks you can add twice as much cheese... I'll leave that one up to you.

Shared at Foodie Friday