Homemade Turkey Meatball Sandwich Casserole

My friend Andrew, whom I have known since kindergarten, works for ConAgra and has been working on a Hunt's tomato sauce which comes in a resealable carton, as opposed to a can.  He gave me a carton of it to try, and Skirell and I were trying to come up with something different to try it with, since it's a new product.  We decided meatball sandwiches would be amazing, and after a little Pinterest searching, this is what I ended up with.  The Hunt's tomato sauce was perfect to use for this, and I had some leftover which I was able to save since it is resealable now!  Next time you are at Target or Wal-Mart, look for the sauce to try on your own! (How was that, Andrew?)

First, the recipe for the homemade turkey meatballs...I forgot to take a picture of just the meatballs, but you get the idea.

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used whole wheat Italian seasoned)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 tablespoon EVOO
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
In a large bowl, place the ground turkey, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.  Quickly whip the 2 eggs together in a separate bowl, then pour in the large bowl with everything else, and mix all ingredients.

Use a tablespoon to loosely measure out the mixture.  Place the mixture in your hand and roll it into a ball and then set aside for cooking.  Repeat this process until you have used all of the mixture.  Place a large skillet over medium heat.  Drizzle the pan with the EVOO, and place the meatballs in the skillet.  Turn the meatballs every couple of minutes to brown on all sides.  When the turkey meatballs are all done, let them rest 3-5 minutes.  If they are extra large, finish cooking them in the oven.  

Now, use those meatballs to make the casserole.  If you want to skip the first step, you can use frozen turkey meatballs as well.

Ingredients

1 baguette French bread, cut into 18-24 slices about 1/4" thick

Olive Oil

Meatballs (I used about 30)

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used Hunt's)

shredded mozzarella cheese to taste 

2 small cans mushroom slices

8 oz frozen diced green peppers

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brush each slice of bread with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.  Toast in the oven oil side up for 10 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.  In a separate bowl, mix together the meatballs, mushrooms, green peppers, and tomato sauce to coat.  Remove the bread from the oven, and line a baking dish on the sides and the bottom with the slices of bread.  Spoon meatball mixture into the baking dish on top of the bread.  Cover the top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.