Meatball Sandwich Casserole

Okay, WOW-WOW-WOW! When I come across a keeper recipe that's when I know I've found a good thing. We've already had this twice before I could even write the post. And if you are a fan here you know I RARELY make things twice. This recipe will for sure be going into my Volume 3 Family Scrapbook/Cookbook I am beginning to create. You can see pages and recipes from my Volume 1 and Volume 2 Cookbooks here.

Meatball Sandwich Casserole
idea found at Pearls, Handcuffs & HappyHour, original recipe from Pillsbury - January 2006

1 Baguette French Bread (cut into 18-24 slices)

Olive Oil

1 pkg Homemade Comfort Meatballs (or frozen), bite sized 

1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce 

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Meanwhile, slice your bread. Brush each slice with olive oil on one side, just coat with pastry brush. Line the bottom and the side with the bread slices...oil side up...slightly overlapping the slices on the side. You won't need to grease your dish for this recipe. Use a deep casserole dish, I made the recipe in a smaller 8x8 pan - but depending how much you want to make you can use a 9x13 pan too.

Bake bread for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.  In a separate bowl, mix meatballs & spaghetti sauce to coat (this is a perfect recipe for left over spaghetti and meatballs too). Remove the bread from the oven and spoon the meatball mixture into the dish on top of the bread. Return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until thoroughly heated through in the center.  Pull out at about 25 minutes and cover with the mozzarella cheese and baked it for another 5 minutes.