I wasn’t sure what reaction to expect from my little ones regarding these turkey meatball subs. I made this meal in parts on an afternoon where I was Go-G0-Going all day, and I knew I had better get dinner in the bag or we would be eating take-out, grilled cheese, or even worse– cold cereal! (No judgement here, we’ve done this on LOTS of occasions!)

I was pleasantly surprised when my 4 year-old gobbled up the meat balls (disregarding the bun completely). Stating only, “YUM!” I’m pretty sure this is the first time he has ingested red sauce without some very concerted cajoling. So a BIG WIN for this dinner, another score for The Six O’Clock Scramble*, and a huge SMILE for ME!!!

As I already mentioned, this dinner works well on crazy nights if you can prep ahead. I made the meatballs, simmered them in the sauce, sautéed the onions and bell peppers, and set EVERYTHING aside in the refrigerator until 6:00 p.m.

Then all I had to do was bust out the hoagie buns, assemble the sandwiches, and broil them for 2-3 minutes. Easy peasy!

I have been receiving some AWESOME feedback from recipes posted here on the blog. THANK YOU!!! A friend who turned out a PERFECT Peach Upside Down Cake, another who really LOVED the Chocolate Cupcake recipe, and another who gave me sweet DREAMS about this gorgeous Polka Dot Cheesecake!!! I’ll definitely try it, and post the results here. Until then, I REALLY really LOVE hearing from all of you! Keep those comments coming!

Thank you for reading, following, sharing and making this space such an enjoyable community experience!

XX, Megan

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion (peeled, halved and sliced into half rings)

1 large green or red bell pepper (sliced)

26 oz. red pasta sauce or tomato sauce

1 lb. ground turkey

1 egg (beaten)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

6 small (about 6 inches) oblong French bread sandwich rolls

4 oz. sliced or shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese

Directions

First, preheat your broiler and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Make the meatballs first (unless you are opting for frozen meatballs, which work great, too)! Combine 1 lb. ground turkey, 1 egg (beaten), 1/2 cub bread crumbs, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder. Stir thoroughly. Make the meat into 1″ balls. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large sauce pan or skillet over medium-high heat and cook the meatballs through. Turn them frequently until they are browned on all sides. Remove the meatballs onto a paper towel lined plate.

Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in another skillet and add the onions and bell peppers. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the large saucepan, heat the sauce over medium to medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and simmer them for 10 – 15 minutes.

Open up each sandwich roll and place them on the baking sheet, put several cooked meatballs and some sauce inside each roll and top them with onions, peppers and cheese. Broil the sandwiches for 2 – 3 minutes until the cheese is melted and the rolls are slightly browned. Serve them hot.

1.  Combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, and garlic powder.

2. Make into 1″ balls, and cook through (5-8 minutes) in 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat.

3. Remove meatballs from the skillet onto a paper towel lined plate.

3. Meanwhile, chop your onion and bell pepper.

4. Cook the onion and bell pepper in a skillet with 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes.

4. Simmer the meatballs in the red sauce until for 10-15 minutes.

5. Open up your sandwich buns and add the meatballs, onion and peppers, and top with cheese.

6. Broil the sandwiches for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and the edges of the buns begin to brown.

7. Eat!!!

*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 5 weekly meals which means 5 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts.

PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.