Our Favorite Sandwich!!

Hi!! Happy Monday!  

How was your weekend?? We had a great time with my parents!

The weather was gorgeous the whole weekend and we just had a ton of fun!

I am taking a week off of posting my menu plan because we will be out of town for the 2nd part of the week.  We are going to Cleveland because my husband has a residency event where he went to medical school.  Since we have so many friends we haven't seen in over a year in Cleveland, the kids and I are going to tag along and shove in as much visiting and playdates as we can!!

Sooo...instead of our weekly menu plan...I wanted to share with you one of my favorite "meals" I make when we are having people over for lunch.  A classic Italian sub sandwich!!

I made this while my parents were here and they loved it! 

This is obviously not a recipe as it is more of a method :)

First- I gather all of my ingredients: zesty Italian salad dressing, pickles (totally optional!), light mayonnaise, mustard, your favorite deli style cheese (we like muenster), a big loaf of French bread, thinly slice onion, romaine lettuce leaves, avocado  (forgot to include those two items in the picture!) and your choice of fresh deli lunch meat.  We like thinly slice salami, smoked turkey breast and either ham or another type of turkey- this time I used a cajun turkey breast- YUM!

 I would say the KEY to this sandwich is the bread.  I have mentioned this bread several times before- we get our French bread from the Walmart bakery and it is ONE DOLLAR.  It freezes beautifully and is SO good!

 So- first cut your bread open leaving it connected on one end.  Then, I spread a VERY thin layer of mayonnaise on both sides of the bread.  After that, on one side I layer some romaine lettuce leaves and on the other end, muenster cheese slices and some mustard.

 Next, I layer my lunch meat. For this sandwich, I put some cajun turkey breast on first, then some salami, then mesquite smoked turkey breast.  After all the lunch meat was piled on, I added just a little salt and pepper.  Then I drizzled on Italian salad dressing over all the lunch meat...you can go as light or heavy on the dressing as you like!

 Now- after the sandwich is made, I wrap it up tightly in saran wrap and put it in the fridge.  I think the key to making this sandwich is letting it sit in the fridge for at least a half hour.  But- you can totally make it several hours ahead of time! If I am having friends over for lunch, I will make this as early as 8:00 in the morning! The longer all the flavors and dressing meld together- the yummier the sandwich!! :)

 When it is time to eat, I just unwrap the sandwich, put it on a cutting board and slice up individual sizes.  If I am having more of a buffet style lunch, I will put all the individual sandwiches on a pretty platter and let people help themselves! 

 Doesn't it look SO yummy?!? If your family loves sandwiches- you should totally try this "method" out!! With football season coming up- this would be the perfect thing to make if you are going tailgating or having people over to watch the game!  I LOVE that making the sandwich ahead- actually makes the sandwich better and it is so easy to transport in a cooler or insulated freezer bag!  Or- if you are like me- and sometimes just want to make an "easy" dinner- this sandwich is perfect for a busy weeknight when you have multiple activities and practices to get everyone to!

So- I would love to know- are you a "sandwich" person??  If so- do you have a favorite sandwich?  If you have a "recipe"- share it with me!!

Hope you have an awesome Monday and fabulous week!!