So Many Outfits

Sandwich Shop Meatball Subs

The hubby and I tried to have a party. We checked the weather, went grocery shopping, cleaned the house, and cooked food in preparation for hungry friends. Then snow started early and thwarted all our best-laid plans. Curses!

Only two people showed up, and we fed them. Then we proceded to eat leftovers the rest of the weekend, and are still doing so now. We are a hungry couple, but this is a lot of food. I Instagrammed a photo of my sandwich that night and was surprised to get a couple requests for a recipe.

I hadn't planned on blogging this because it's really just putting together a bunch of storebought ingredients. But my version is vegetarian and tastes like something you'd get at a sandwich shop, so perhaps it is worth sharing after all.

The following photos were taken when making another sandwich as leftovers. The fake meatballs are Quorn brand, found in the freezer section of the Health Market in HyVee. We heated them up in a slow cooker with a jar of chunky veggie off-brand pasta sauce.

For cheese, I used sliced mozzarella. The hubby likes sliced provolone. You could use vegan cheese, if that's your thing.

I use wheat rolls. Whatever you can find in the bakery will work.

We didn't like what we found in the bakery section of HyVee this particular time, so I cut frozen bread dough into quarters as soon as it thawed a bit, and stretched it out periodically as it rose. I thought these came out the perfect size and consistency for meatball subs.

I could get four meatballs on these.

While reheating meatballs for leftovers, I cut the bun most of the way down the middle and put the cheese in. When I try to put the cheese on top, I always fail.

Add warmed meatballs. The process is the same if you use real-meat meatballs, of course. The hubby's look exactly the same as these.

I added a little Parmesan to the top. I have a cheese problem.

Then I put it all back in the microwave for a bit to melt the cheeses and warm the bun. If you're making these the first time and not as leftovers, the final step probably isn't necessary.

Baked French Toast

I tried something a little different, and while it wasn't a total success, it is tasty enough to share. Plus, it's easy and a good way to use up bread that is about to go bad.

Start by throwing a few tablespoons of butter in a glass pan. Put this in the oven at 350 degrees while you prep the ingredients.

The hubby and I picked up this raisin pecan bread on a whim at HyVee, and it just wasn't quite what we'd hoped for. A little too dry for me, and too raisiny for him. I kind of knew I was going to turn this into a blog recipe when we bought it, but that's okay, too!

I cubed the bread and threw it into a bowl.

Then add some milk and eggs. Mix it up well. I found some similar recipes online, but none that were quite what I wanted. The thing I did learn is that the prep for this can be done a day ahead. It allows the bread to soak up all the Frenchiness, and you could do it when you plan to have company over.

Anyway, the butter should be melted by now. Butter makes everything tastier, and it eliminates the need to spray the pan.

I didn't want to add extra sugar to the mixture because my bread was already a little sweet, but I did want a nice sugared top. I've been buying this sugar at Costco, and I swear it tastes so much better. It can come out a little grainy in some recipes, but it's just perfect for topping desserts and mixing into tea.

A quarter cup worked out perfectly for me.

Now go make yourself some coffee while this bakes.

After about half an hour, I really wanted to eat this. I hoped that the liquid on top was just butter, but it's still eggy. Sadness!

Of course I never time anything, but this took a little over an hour to bake. Just keep checking it every 10 minutes until you don't get any raw egg on the poking knife.

It plates up kind of like a bread pudding. I made this yesterday and warmed some up today in the microwave with a little extra butter, and I liked it a lot better. In the attempt to make this not terribly unhealthy, I think I fell a little short of the result I dreamed of. So don't be afraid to finish this off with some extra sugar, butter, or maybe a drizzle of frosting.

Baked French Toast

1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread, cubed
6 eggs
1 cup milk
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

1. Melt butter in the bottom of a 9x9 glass baking dish.
2. Combine all other ingredients. Pour on top of the butter.
3. Bake at 350 degrees about an hour, or until a knife comes out clean.

Game 2: Firebranded Photos

Thanks to Brandi Wilson of Firebranded Photography for these photos!