Meatball Subs In The Slow Cooker

I'm not making this tonight so I don't have any photos just yet. Some of my single friends keep asking so I'm just going to throw up a quick and dirty recipe for you. 


I'm here to serve.


This is super easy and a perfect lunch or dinner when you have to feed a group or you just want to cook once and eat all week. I'm not sure which genius first put this together. A bachelor friend made this years ago and it was so easy my flabber got ghasted. It's an easy go to meal when we have friends in town and I need to feed a crowd without wrecking the kitchen or spending the day in it.


Meatball Subs


1 Bag of Frozen Pre-cooked Italian Style Meatballs
1 16oz Jar of Regular Spaghetti Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese and/or Shredded Italian Cheese Blend and or sliced provalone
Hoagie Rolls
Pinch of Italian Seasoning, Red Pepper Flakes or Oregano to taste (optional)

1. Pour the bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs into your crock pot.
2. Pour the jar of spaghetti sauce over the meatballs. 
3. Put the lid on and turn it on the high setting. (Note: Plug it in. Trust me...so much better when it's plugged in. :P)
4. Try to give it a stir after two hours. It's not mandatory but it helps eliminate any cold spots in the meatballs.
5. After 3 hours cut into a meatball to make sure they're heated through (or cook on low for 5ish hours if you'll be out of the house.)
6. Serve on hoagies with shredded cheese 
7. You can put your subs under the broiler to get the cheese all gooey and the bread a little toasted before or after you load it with meatballs. (Optional)

Tips: 


When I have the option of meatball sizes I always get the smaller ones that are 0.5oz meatballs. The big ones (2oz meatballs) don't fit on the roll very well and they make a big mess when you try to eat them. You can always cut them in half after they're cooked, but go with the bag of the smaller meatballs instead of the jumbo gobstopper size.

Make sure you get the pre-cooked Italian style meatballs. If you use raw meatballs you'll end up with a meat soup...or just meaty sauce, depending on creative license.

Regular ho-hum spaghetti sauce works best. I usually use Ragu or Prego and get their traditional spaghetti sauce. I'm sure I've used my fair share of store brands over the years as well. Sauces with the chunky vegetables or other big bits don't really give enough cooking liquid. 


All slow cookers seem to cook at different temperatures. You may need to adjust your time according to your slow cooker's personality.


Resist taking the lid off and checking it during the first 2 hours. Pretty please! Every time you remove the lid it adds to the cooking time. AND DON'T leave the spoon sitting in the slow cooker with the lid cockeyed. One of the cardinal rules of cooking with a slow cooker means you leave it alone. That seal that's created by steam between the pot and the lid actually keeps it cooking without everything drying out. I am old...I am wise...trust me. Cook it on low if you need to be out of the house and are worried about over-cooking.


Slow cookers aren't really meant for one person portions. You'll end up with a dried out mess if you try to make this for one with 4 meatballs and some sauce. Just stick with big portions. Your friends will thank you. 


Put any extras into sandwich size portions in plastic storage containers or zipper bags. Pack it up with a bun and some cheese and you can re-heat it at work for lunch. If you run out of buns you can toss it on some pasta. Who doesn't have some kind of pasta?

I use a Crock Pot slow cooker and it's about 4.5-5 quarts. It's battle worn and also very shy so I found this one from the Crock Pot website to post instead.