Mike and I had plans to meet a friend for dinner at Sichuan Pavilion, our new favorite Sichuan restaurant in Rockville (I’ll tell you more about it after I actually get back there). Unfortunately, the meteorologists who are almost always wrong about snow in this area were very right. Rather than trekking up to Rockville, we decided to stay in. I needed the perfect dinner to match the snowy night — something comforting and warm, but not too difficult to make. Obvious answer: meatball subs.

I made turkey meatballs in a way that any proud Italian meatball maker would have scoffed at, but they were delicious and perfect for our sandwiches. Tomato sauce was a cinch. Sauteed green peppers. Soft rolls. Mozzarella. I almost started to appreciate the bad weather.

Turkey Meatballs My Way

• 1 lb of ground lean turkey
• 1/4 red onion — diced
• farmers cheese — this is similar to ricotta. I had it in the house, so I decided to use it. Not too much — maybe a 1/4 cup
• garlic powder
• dried basil
• dried oregano
• salt and pepper

I know that meatballs usually include a binder — eggs — and a filler — breadcrumbs — but I didn’t want to use that stuff. I didn’t think it was necessary and, as it turns out, it wasn’t.

I mixed all of the ingredients together and rolled it into small meatballs. If they’re too big, they won’t fit in the sandwich.

Heat some olive oil in a non-stick pan and brown the meatballs so they get a nice crust. I found that the crust was enough to hold these boys together just fine.

Tomato Sauce

I stopped buying jarred sauce a few years ago. Making it from canned tomatoes is just too easy to justify buying the jarred stuff and it tastes MUCH better. Plus, a can of tomatoes has a lot less sodium than jarred sauce. So tell me — why buy the jarred stuff?

I let this cook while I made the meatballs.

• 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I compare the different brands and buy the one with the lowest level of sodium — they vary a LOT)
• fresh basil — chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic — minced or crushed
• 1/4 red onion — diced
• dried oregano
• crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Pour the can of tomatoes into a sauce pan. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Then add the seasonings and herbs — don’t over do it just yet. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes and taste. Add more of whatever else you think it needs and let it simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Keep tasting it and adjusting the flavors to your preference. I made mine a little more garlicky than I would have if I was using it for pasta. I wanted a stronger flavor to go along with the roll.

Once you have it just the way you want it, add the meatballs. Allow them to cook in the simmering sauce for 15 minutes. Make sure they’re covered in that delicious sauce.

Sandwiches

Buy whatever kind of rolls you like. I also sauteed sliced green pepper in the same pan that I used to brown the meatballs. Because there were onions in the meatballs and in the sauce, I didn’t add more. You do whatever you like.

Assembling the sandwiches:

1. Put shredded mozzarella on the bread first. This is key. It gets all melty and gooey when you add the meatballs.
2. Add the meatballs. Don’t over do it.
3. Add some sauce — your call. I like lots of sauce. Mike doesn’t.
4. Add the sauteed peppers.
5. Add more mozzarella cheese.

Eat. Enjoy. Moan at how delicious and comforting that sandwich is. No, it isn’t healthy. I used lean turkey and made my own sauce — that makes it MUCH healthier than a sandwich you would buy in a restaurant. So in that case, treat yourself every now and then. You deserve it. I said so.