We spent the weekend in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for two Feises.  Milwaukee has become our go to city, even more than Chicago.  It is a three and a half hour drive, more with all the construction, but we still love it and are having a great time exploring different areas each time we go.

We discovered the Milwaukee Zoo this time and even became members.  We figure we visit Milwaukee often enough it seemed like a great place to support.  We only bought tickets to go in but after touring the zoo we went back and became members.  What a fun place to spend a day.  I only wish it was open later during the summer on weekends.  We are always looking for great fun family things to do in the evenings and the zoo closes at 5:00 pm.

Needless to say, I didn’t get time to get this meal posted on Friday, which is good because I have not cooked a single meal since Thursday night.  I needed something quick and easy because I still had to clean and pack.  Meatball sandwiches it was.

Verdict:

Who knew that doing something as simple as adding pesto and freshly grated Parmesan to a sandwich could take it to another whole level of deliciousness.  Both children were surprised at how good this actually tasted.   We all love pesto but just never really thought of adding it to our meatball subs until tonight.

I served this with a green side salad to complete the meal.

For my mostly gluten-free son I used gluten-free meatballs and gluten-free Udi hot dog rolls.

Ingredients:

• about 40 (1/2 oz.) meatballs, can be frozen or your favorite homemade
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce or homemade sauce
• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese sliced into 16 slices
• 8 good sub or hot dog rolls
• 1/2 cup of your favorite pesto, homemade or jarred work fine
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

1. Bake frozen meatballs according to package until just warmed through.
2. Remove meatballs from oven.
3. Reset oven temperature to 350 degrees.
4. Arrange rolls on a rimmed baking sheet that has been covered with aluminum foil.  Place one slice of mozzarella in each roll.  Place 4-5 meatballs in each roll and cover the meatballs with pasta sauce.  Be careful not to overfill as it will drip onto the pan and may burn.
5. Place second slice of mozzarella over the top of each sandwich.
6. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until mozzarella just starts to melt.
7. Turn oven onto broil and broil until cheese starts to brown.  Be careful you can go from browned to burnt in a few seconds!
8. Remove pan from oven and allow sandwiches to set for 3-5 minutes.
9. Serve with a tablespoon or so of pesto drizzled over each sandwich and a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.