Meatball Sub Sandwiches

Today I am gonna throw some frozen meatballs into the slow cooker with a jar of pasta sauce and call it dinner. I would normally make homemade meatballs, but I wanted to try the frozen kind from Aldi. The 16 oz. bag was $2.00 and it says there are approx. 32 meatballs inside.

Hopefully they taste good and I can use them for other things in the future when I am in a hurry. I have french bread for the sandwiches, and leftover shredded mozzarella cheese from the pizza yesterday to top the sandwiches.

Because I like to share and they are truly yummy, here is my homemade meatball recipe (which I got out of Martha Stewart Living magazine ages ago):
***********************************************************************************
1 lb. ground beef
4 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
2 eggs
6 tbsp. breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
olive oil

In a large bowl, combine beef, parsley, Parmesan, eggs, breadcrumbs, milk & salt. Mix together well with your hands. Form the mixture into meatballs with your hands (or use a melon baller) and place them on wax paper. Heat about 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet; add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally until they are brown all over.

Now you can finish cooking them one of two ways:
#1: Put the meatballs in a large pot or slow cooker with 1-2 jars of pasta sauce. In the pot, cover and simmer for 1 hour. In the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
*OR*
#2: Line a 9x13 pan with foil. Add meatballs to pan and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Option #2 is good for recipes where you put meatballs into cocktail or BBQ sauce. Or you can freeze them on a cookie sheet and then throw them in a plastic bag to use at a later date.
************************************************************************************

Does anyone have a cure for bugs eating your plants? My poor little basil plants, that I started from seeds, are not doing well. They are chewed full of holes. My sunflowers are not doing good either, same problem. I bought some Garden Safe insecticide soap to spray on them, but it doesn't seem to be working.

I need to go work on my grocery list. I need to come up with 6 dinners for next week, plus any breakfast and lunch items, plus snacks, plus any cleaning supplies, plus personal things like shampoo and deodorant, plus the staples like butter, tin foil, and mustard; all for $100. Wish me luck!

Happy eating!