I know some hate when others post reviews that tell all about what they did differently, but I figure...hey, many people have made this & found it to be great....so why not tell what I did...maybe it will inspire you!!!
1.) I made my meatballs out of ground chicken! They only need 15 mins. at 400..just be sure to lightly spray your sheet with cooking spray! I also combined the minced garlic in with my chickenballs....
2.) As another reviewer suggested...I omitted the mayo & replaced it with ricotta...did I mention that the ricotta/cream cheese mixture was good enough to spread on my body?!?!
3.)Probably the biggest change I made was how I used the bread....I bought the roundish italian loaf, did my best Subway sandwhich artist impression, and removed the top portion. I then removed most (but not all) the fluffy bread guts to make a bowl (and tossed the guts). I smeared the cream/ricotta cheese mixture on the bottom & sides of the bowl, and added some to the underside of the breadbowl lid. (This way b/c I thought spreading each breadcube with the mixture sounded too time consuming...and half the breadcubes prolly would of ended up popped in my mouth!!!) I then layered the cheese & chicken balls, baked 25 minutes WITHOUT the breadbowl lid, and about 5-10 with the breadbowl lid in place...to serve, just slice....my "boys" (my fiance & his best friend) raved over this for at least an hour....and they are food snobs!!!!
This was possibly the most amazing thing I've ever made! I put my whole loaf of bread in the pan and stuck it in the oven while it preheated to toast it because I knew I wouldn't like it if it was soggy. I bought 1 and a half pounds of fresh meatballs instead of making my own to save time and I sliced my bread into 7 slices instead of cubing it so it would be easier to fit in the pan and easier to spread the cream cheese mix over. I microwaved the cream cheese stuff for about 30 seconds to make it more spreadable. I skipped the water to avoid soggy bread but added an extra cup of spaghetti sauce since I had more than a pound of meatballs. The result was so delicious I thought about it all the next day. My bread wasn't soggy and there were enough meatballs and sauce to make every bite loaded. My boyfriend didn't like the mayonnaise taste so next time I'll use less of that but I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who enjoys meatball sandwiches.
With some tweaks, this was pretty darn good. I couldn't imagine mayonnaise combined with the other Italian ingredients, so I used ricotta cheese in place of the mayo. I made sure the bread was day-old and crusty so it would not get soggy. Even the next day, the bread was fine. And I didn't use any water with the spaghetti sauce, just sauce and garlic. This was a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs type casserole - perfect for cold winter nights.
I read all the reviews and decided to follow everyone's advice. I used frozen meatballs didn't use any water or mayo and I toasted the bread first. I then layered the slices of toast spread with cream cheese then cubed by hand. My husband and sons absolutely loved it! We had leftovers which my teenage son has been eating as an after-school snack. I'm sure I'll make again.
My casserole-hating husband liked this but said it was too mushy. Because of time I did not read the reviews for this before I made it and I wish I had! You defiantly need to omit the water and I will toast the bread next time. I don t think you need 1/2 cup of mayo 1/4 cup would be plenty. Also next time I will increase the Italian Seasonings to 1 Tablespoon. I mixed the mayo/cream cheese mixture in a plastic baggie and then cut the corner of the baggie so I could pipe on the mixture. I made the meatballs according to my recipe; meat fresh garlic and equal parts Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. All and all this was yummy and a nice change of pace for my family!
This was a hit with my son and husband. After redading other reviews I decided to use garlic bread (Texas Toast or Pepperidge Farm) instead of Italian bread. I toasted it first in the oven and then cubed it. Tossed it with the mayonaise and creamed Cheese mixture. Also made my own meatballs by adding egg and some extra spices. It really turned out delicious! Thanks Holly
This is absolutely delicious!! So different from most casseroles made with pasta or rice. My family said it was even better than the meatball sandwiches ordered in restaurants. As for complaints about the bread becoming soggy and the casserole turning out like mush -- read the directions and follow them exactly. It says to spread the cream cheese mixture over each bread cube. Be sure to do this and cover the bread cubes completely because it prevents the tomato sauce mixture from soaking into the bread and making it soggy. I recommend this recipe highly and it has become one of our favorites!
I have made this several times with varying degrees of success. However, I think I've tweaked it to our liking by being skimpy with the sauce and skipping the extra water and garlic. I've used all kinds of bread, French works well, too and heat and serve bread sticks slice into bite sized pieces nicely. The meatballs are good, and I'm not always crazy about meatballs. But the cream cheese mixture is what makes this so yummy! This is an excellent recipe!
This was delicious. I toasted the bread reduced the mayo to a little over 1/4 cup and reduced the water to 1/2 cup. It wasn't soggy at all.
My wife liked it but the rest of us thought the bread was soggy and nothing special. Probably will not try it again.
