gras

10 years ago around this time, in my Marketing days, I went to New Orleans for the NADA {National Automobile Dealers Association} trade show. It was right before the Superbowl and Mardi Gras, but the beads were already flying, the zydecos were playing and the Hurricanes were certainly flowing. If it was {that} crazy a week or so before Fat Tuesday, I can’t imagine what the actual day would be like.

Good times.

GOOD times.

Last night for dinner I wanted to channel NOLA’s cuisine so I threw together some muffuletta sandwiches and red beans & rice.

These were so easy to put together and are great for summer picnics since they have no mayo and should be made an hour or so before enjoying.

I just picked up a fresh loaf of Italian bread, cut it in half and then in half again horizontally. Scoop out a little of the bread to make room for the fillings.

I threw a whole jar of Mezzetta California HOT Mix into my mini processor and reserved the liquid. Add 3-4 tbsp liquid to processed veggies before spooning onto the 2 halves of hollowed out bread. You want the extra juice to soak into the bread just a bit, but don’t want to oversaturate it ~ this will give it great flavor. {Muffuletta is made with lots of chopped olives, too, however I am not a huge fan of them so that’s why I used this mix ~ thanks for recommending, Lisa!}

Then just layer your meats and cheeses ~ I used ham {or capicola}, genoa salami and provolone.

Cut into triangles and eat up!

I cheated with the red beans & rice and just used a packaged mix.

And since I will be saying bye-bye to desserts during Lent, I had to go out with purple, green & gold sugar cookie bars!

My new addiction. Recipe here!

{This time I used almond extract and coconut/almond milk in the frosting ~ a definite tweak to the recipe for batches to come. After Lent, of course}

*****

Happy Ash Wednesday!

XO