This medicated meatball sub casserole was SO incredibly good, I ended up making 2 batches back to back, giving care packages to my card-holding neighbors, who have since asked me several times when I would make it again. (: This “open-faced” sandwich-style casserole came beautifully together partly due to an unsliced rosemary and olive oil loaf from our local bakery, and cutting the slices to perfect proportion, freshly thick-cut provolone cheese from the deli, and of course, being made with lovee. *Chef’s kiss*
**Note: You can choose to medicate your cannabis-infused meals in a multitude of ways, which is truly the beauty and freedom of it! For example, I used concentrated cannabis-infused olive oil for the meatballs and the bread steps of this recipe, in addition, I used infused grapeseed oil by Natural State Medicinals for the sauce to make up for some loss of THC in the cooking process, as we are going to saute our oils at a higher heat. (You may be able to find the grapeseed oil or something similar in our online ordering menu, if in stock.) Otherwise, you can even choose to utilize your own canna-butter to baste your bread slices, in place of olive oil, if you so desire! As always, make sure to use a dosage calculator so you can cook with confidence in your final result and dosage.
Step 1: Prep Your Ingredients
Preheat your oven to 400°F. As your oven is preheating, mix all of the meatball ingredients aside from the olive oil. (Like most recipes that call for either ground beef or pork, I chose to do half beef and half pork, for a balance and variety of flavor and texture) Since I ended up doing a double batch, this worked out splendidly.
Form your meatballs about 2 inches in diameter, set aside, and place -wrapped- into the freezer for about 10 minutes. This way, they keep their shape while cooking/browning, and won’t fall apart on you.
Step 2: Cooking Your Meatballs
Once your meatballs are properly chilled, heat 2T cannabis-infused olive oil in your cast iron skillet, over medium heat. I LOVE utilizing a cast iron for these kinds of recipes because they are so versatile; allowing you to go straight from the stovetop to the oven. A game-changer!
Cook your meatballs, using your metal tongs to turn as needed, until browned on all sides (about 2 minutes on each side). Set your meatballs aside once they are nicely browned.
Step 3: Making Your Sauce
Heat 1T of cannabis-infused olive oil (or grapeseed oil) in your cast iron, again over medium heat.
Add your onion, garlic, and tomato paste, sauteeing for about a minute or two. Browning your tomato paste with the onions and garlic helps to caramelize it, adding a natural sweetness to your tomato sauce. Add crushed tomato and coarsely torn basil, continuing to stir, until sauce is reduced to your desired consistency.
Step 4: Baking Your Meatball Sub Casserole
Brush each side of your bread slices with olive oil and additional garlic, using a silicone basting brush. (Silicone and metal tools lessen the loss of THC in the cooking process, as they aren’t as absorbent as plastics and wood.) I also tend to crack fresh pepper and maybe add some extra spices on bread slices before baking, for complexity and layers in the final dish. Place prepared bread slices on a wire rack over a shallow baking sheet.
Place your cast iron/meatball and sauce dish into your pre-heated oven, alongside your bread slices on the shallow baking sheet. Turn your bread slices after 8 minutes to get an even toast, and bake both for an additional 7 minutes.
Remove your meatballs and bread from the oven, and set your broiler to high.
Place your bread slices on a single layer over your meatballs. I made sure to gather the meatballs in pairs of 2, and each slice of the rosemary and olive oil Italian bread ended up fitting perfectly over each pair!
Cover each slice of bread with provolone cheese slices, cutting them to fit the bread if necessary. Place your cast iron skillet/casserole dish back into the oven one last time, broiling your casserole until the cheese is perfectly melted and toasty. (This should only take a few minutes, so keep an eye on your oven, and don’t walk away!)
Once your cheese is toasted to perfection, creating a nice crispy layer over each open-faced meatball sub, use your metal tongs to carefully transfer the meatball sub casserole into a serving dish and spoon the rest of your sauce evenly around it, or just serve straight from your skillet! Top with more basil if you so desire. Viola!
Enjoy!! (:
Cooking with Cannabis-Infused Ingredients
A good starting point for ingesting cannabis edibles is to limit yourself to <5mg THC ; even less if you are new to THC-infused food. They can be stronger and more intense, differing drastically from smoking. For one, the effects can take anywhere from a half hour to 3 hours to fully metabolize, depending on an individual’s unique body and metabolic rate. In addition, because the THC is digested through your liver and can more readily cross the body’s blood-brain barrier, the high can be stronger and last longer. With that said, your edible’s potency depends on many factors; how it was prepared, the potency of your starting product, and considering the strain or concentrate’s cannabinoid and terpene concentrations. To test the potency and effect of your finished product, try a smaller amount (<5mg) and see how that dose affects you after 2-3 hours. Titrate your dose as desired, and you can then use this personalized “standard” dose as a baseline for your recipes.
**Check out our dosage calculator for help in calculating your edible’s dosage @:
https://www.plant-family.com/thc-dosage-calculator/ **
Happy Cooking!
