52 Recipes | No. 3 Meatball Sliders

Moving on to recipe three of my 52 recipes project for 2018. Today it is meatball sliders. This is a recipe I hodgepodged together from a bunch of different things that I've seen on the Internet. We've all seen those Tasty and BuzzFeed Food videos that are popular on social media right now. And those recipes using sweet Hawaiian rolls. All of those were what got me thinking about making sliders to begin with. Then I went searching for a recipe that I thought we might like but nothing really called me so here is what I did.

Pistachio Project Grain Free Meatballs with diced onion and grated carrot

Recipe:
12 2oz. meatballs
Slider buns or Sweet Hawaiian style rolls
Provolone cheese
Pasta sauce
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan

Open the buns and lightly toast both sides under the broiler. While the buns are toasting, warm the meatballs and pasta sauce in a saucepan. Remove the buns, and a loos to cool for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350*F. Place bottom buns in a casserole dish, and layer provolone slices on top. Then spoon a meatball and some sauce onto each bun. Cover with the top buns. Mix olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese together and drizzle over the top of the buns. Cover with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Then remove the foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes making sure the top buns don't burn. Serve while warm!

Adjustments and Thoughts:
This is another recipe where I use the Pistachio Project meatballs. I love Britney's recipe and we use it for all different kinds of meals around here so they are always on hand.  Sometimes, I hide veggies in them like bell peppers or carrot. If I know I am going to be making sliders later in the week, I will prepare larger meatballs by adding in a little bit more meat and veggies and roll out 12 meatballs instead of 16. They end up being closer to 2oz instead of the 1oz ones from the recipe. Than I cook them for 25 minutes. You can use whatever meatballs you like though.

Most recipes for sliders I saw called for shredded mozzarella over meatballs and sauce on top of an untested bun/roll. Instead of ending up with a soggy mess, I decided to toast my buns then layer on sliced provolone then add the meatball with sauce. I feel like this allows for a more solid slider. The cheese acts as a little bit of a moisture barrier and things are a lot less soggy.

Like I mentioned above, because I use the meatball recipe that we like, I tend to have the meatballs already made and so it's an easy meal to throw together on a busy night. Also, this is something that my husband and the toddler both love. Most nights, we serve them alongside a nice big salad and it's a complete dinner.