Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball Hoagies

My husband likes a hearty dinner and my kids like spagetti so this was a great crowd pleaser for our family tonight. I have a french bread recipe so instead of buying hoagies I cut the recipe in half and then divided the dough 12 ways into these somewhat larger-than-life hoagies but we all loved them! Thanks Jenny at Picky Palate for the meatball recipe!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball Hoagies

(Original recipe from Jenny at Picky Palate)

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon Tabasco Hot Sauce
½ Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
½ Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 T fresh)
¼ teaspoon dried basil (or 1 T fresh)

12-15 1 inch mozzarella balls (or cut fresh mozzarella in 1 inch cubes)
1 26oz jar favorite pasta sauce, or homemade sauce
4-6 Hoagie Rolls, cut in half
4 sliced provolone cheese, each cut into halves (I think this is optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place beef, egg, milk, hot sauce, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt, pepper, oregano and basil in a large bowl. With hands or large spoon, mix until well combined.

2. Scoop about ¼ Cup meat mixture in hands; press 1 mozzarella ball into middle of meat and form a ball around the cheese. Do this until all meat and cheese is used up; makes about 12-15 large meatballs.

3. Place all meatballs into a 9x13 inch baking dish that has ¼ Cup olive oil spread into bottom. Bake for 20 minutes; flip all meatballs. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

4. Place pasta sauce into a large pot. Place cooked meatballs in sauce.Simmer on low heat.

5. Place ½ slice of provolone onto the cut sides of rolls. Place onto tin foil or baking sheet and broil in oven for 1-2 minutes or until rolls are toasted and cheese is melted.

6. Place 3-4 meatballs onto bottom halves of toasted rolls. Spoon pasta sauce over meatballs and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Close with top roll and serve warm.

**Jayne's Notes: When broiling my Hoagies I buttered each, put mozzarella on one half and a quick shake of Parmesan and garlic salt on the other. Also, the fresh herbs made a HUGE difference in the meat mixture! (I actually think the meat would have been a bit drab if not for the intense flavor of fresh herbs.)

Also, I cut my meatballs in half when serving so they fit better on the sandwich. (I don't like to get a huge chunk of meatball when I bite into the sandwich so that was an added bonus of halving your meatballs.)