| 1 | Lightly shape ground beef into 1 ?inch balls. |
| 2 | Lightly brown balls in margarine in large frying-pan, about 5 minutes. |
| 3 | Add the green pepper and onion to meatballs; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. |
| 4 | Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid. |
| 5 | Add tomatoes, all but ?c tomato liquid, basil and thyme to meat balls. |
| 6 | Cover tightly and cook slowly 5 minutes. |
| 7 | Combine reserved tomato liquid with flour, stirring until smooth. |
| 8 | Stir into meatballs, cover tightly and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick. |
| 9 | Meanwhile prepare italian bread basket and place on platter. |
| 10 | Spoon meatball mixture into and around bread. |
| 11 | Garnish with green pepper rings and cherry tomatoes, if desired. |
| 12 | Italian bread basket: 1 loaf (16 ozs) italian bread, unsliced ?cup margarine, melted ?cup parmesan cheese, grated cut a ?slice from top of bread. |
| 13 | With fork, scoop out inside of bread to form basket, leaving 1-inch bread on all sides and bottom of loaf. |
| 14 | Place loaf on foil in shallow baking pan. |
| 15 | Brush top, sides and inside of bread with melted margarine. |
| 16 | Sprinkle loaf with parmesan cheese, coating sides evenly. |
| 17 | Bake in hot oven (400 °F). for 10 minutes |