Hot Meatball Subs

I was thrilled by how easy it was to make authentic-tasting meatball subs, and my whole family enjoyed these hot sandwiches in various forms. Celia ate everything separately, while Solomon had fun trying to fit the whole sandwich in his mouth. And Andrew was happy to devour one of his favorite childhood meals. The beauty of these sandwiches is that you can customize them for your family, like using vegetarian meatballs and whole wheat rolls, skipping the cheese for those who can't eat dairy, or making your own meatballs from scratch (recipe below). To make them a little spicier, sprinkle the baked sandwiches with crushed red pepper flakes or hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco.

Using vegetarian meatballs, rather than traditional meatballs, reduces the calories per sandwich by about 130, cuts the sodium by about 200 mg. and cuts the total fat and saturated fat by more than half! (When I first made them my family had no idea the meatballs in their sandwiches were meatless.)