EASY MAKE-A-HEAD MUFFALETTA

 Every time I come across a loaf of day old Italian bread, I seem to snatch it up.  I always need an easy meal to have on hand while we are in the midst of softball.  I always have a quick snack for those late night softball games.

Wikipedia gives the history and background of the Muffaletta.

The ingredients that I used are:  one loaf of Italian bread-unsliced, a package of Genoa salami, a package of honey ham, one package of each- sliced mozzarella and provolone and a jar of Italian olive started.  Ready? (I love to use Grandpa's scale from the Butcher shop).

Here is a close up of my meat and cheeses.

First, slice through the loaf horizontally cutting the loaf in half.  Set two sides in a cookie sheet.(that's for later.)

Next, I pull  out most of the guts of the loaf itself. If I had time, I would crumble these on another cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for bread crumbs for another recipe.

Using the entire jar of olive mixture, I spread half on each of the two sides of bread.

The advantage of putting the oil/olive mix in first is that it will soak into the crust. On one of the halves, I placed the salami and on the other, ham.

Then I follow with the provolone on one side and mozzarella on the other.

Carefully, place one half on top of the other.  Since the olive salad is at the bottom, flipping the two together will have a minimal mess.

Using the bag the bread originally came in, I carefully fill the bag with the readied muffaletta.

Secure the end of the bag.

The last step is to place the loaf into a casserole dish just in case some of the oil mix comes out.

Place it overnight or even two nights in the fridge.

To plate the sandwich, I pulled out these nifty picks from World Market.

Attaching a grape tomato and an olive to each pick, I pierce the loaf prior to cutting a piece.  All the layers remain stationary.

A closer look at the layers.

Enjoy your ready made feast for a late dinner or it would be great for a picnic if kept refrigerated.

Mr. Thrifty likes to cut a slice off the loaf and microwave it for about 30 seconds.  The warmed sandwich reveals more intense flavors.