Crave Wednesday: Sausage Fennel Subs

Apparently 5 is the year for birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. In addition to Thatkid's, we were invited to two other parties in the month of October alone!  The weekend before Halloween, we turned out to celebrate Princess turning 5. 

Despite the fact that Thatkid has plans to marry Princess one day, he spent most of his time at the party with his non-princess friends.

I'm so grateful for the other moms in the group, because I know I can trust them to look after Thatkid while I chase Thatbaby around.

I'm also thankful that Thatkid loves his little brother so much.  He made sure Thatbaby got the best seat during the birthday show.

And stood by his side while they danced with Chuck. (Chuck E? Mr. Cheese?)

He even found a game they could play together.

And then they both ended up crashing on the way home. Which is probably the only good thing about Chuck E Cheese.

It's also a bit of a problem for me.  I'm not really comfortable with just leaving them in the car while they sleep, so I'm trapped in there with them.  Which doesn't give me a lot of time to make dinner!  Luckily dinner at our house can come together pretty quickly.  A warm sandwich, stuffed to the gills with sausages and cheese is one of those meals that's a little too much for lunch, but perfect for dinner.  Using pre-cooked chicken sausage means that you really are just warming things up, as opposed to cooking.

I wrote last week that I love what fennel adds to dishes, so it won't surprise you to see it as an addition here.  Fennel seeds are often used in sausages, so the flavor is very familiar.  The addition gives a more in depth flavor profile than the typical sausage and pepper hoagie, or even a meatball sub.  A melty, crunchy, meaty sandwich which comes together in less than 20 minutes is the perfect solution to those evenings when you need a dinner quickly!

Sausage Fennel Subs (From Cooking Light)

1 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion

1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

6 oz chicken and sun-dried tomato sausage, thinly diagonally sliced

4 submarine rolls

1/2 cup tomato-basil pasta sauce

4 slices provolone cheese

1. Preheat broiler.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, swirling to coat.  Add onion, fennel, and garlic; saute 4 minutes.
2. Add sausage, saute 3 minutes or until sausage is lightly browned and vegetables begin to brown. 
3. Arrange rolls, cut side up, in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until toasted.
4. Spoon about 2/3 cup sausage mixture in bottom half of each roll, and top each with 2 Tbsp sauce.
5. Place 1 cheese slice over sauce.  
6. Arrange sandwiches on baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts.