Today is Fat Tuesday, the last day of Mardi Gras. Tonight, the street sweepers will follow the officers of NOPD and surrounding jurisdictions as they march down Bourbon Street to end the festivities. Whenever I go to New Orleans, there’s a few things I have to eat: beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, breakfast/lunch/dinner at Deja Vu, and a muffaletta sandwich from Central Grocery and Deli. People line up around the block to get a muffaletta here. Here’s a new take on the old tradition: Muffuletta Dip!

Total time: 30 Mins
Prep: 10 Mins
Cook: 20 Mins

Made with ham, salami and olives, our cheesy baked Muffuletta Dip is a delicious take on the classic New Orleans sandwich.

What You Need

1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
1/4 cup black olives, chopped
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Lite House Italian Dressing
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Smoked Ham, chopped 4 slices OSCAR MAYER Hard Salami, chopped
large thin wheat snack crackers

Let’s Make It
1 – Heat oven to 350ºF.
2 – Combine olives and dressing.
3 – Mix next 4 ingredients; spread onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate.
4 – Bake 15 to 20 min. or until heated through. Top with olive mixture. Serve with crackers.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1: Use Your Microwave
Spread cheese mixture onto bottom of 9-inch microwaveable pie plate. Microwave on HIGH 3 to 5 min. or until heated through. Carefully remove from microwave. (Plate will be hot.) Top with olive mixture.

Tip 2: Serving Suggestion
Serve with thin wheat snack crackers or RITZ Crackers. Or Pita chips–that’s what I like.

To get all the nutritional info, CLICK HERE and head over to Kraft Recipes. I’m also celebrating the paperback release of my newest Harlequin Desire title, BILLIONAIRE COUNTRY. Zoe Parker, the heroine, fell in love with muffuletas when she did a gig in New Orleans and craved the taste when she was pregnant. She found this recipe and chowed down. I can promise that Tucker is a big fan and whenever Deacon and the Sons of Nashville are around, they all beg her to make a quadruple batch for their nomming pleasure. You can click on the cover to go to the Harlequin site to buy the paperback, the ebook, or find the links to other retailers.

Rule Number One:
Never mix business and pleasure.Country music producer Tucker Tate is laser focused. But finding a pregnant runaway bride forces him to slow down. Zoe Parker has a voice like an angel—and nowhere to go. So when he moves her and her baby into his condo, it’s just business…until it’s not. Will broken rules lead to broken hearts? Or is Tucker writing his very own love song?

BILLIONAIRE COUNTRY is part of the Billionaires and Babies mini-series and is book #8 in my Red Dirt Royalty series. If you’ve read or will be reading the book, please give me a virtual hug by leaving a review on Goodreads or the retail site where you bought the book. I promise lots of virtual hugs back! ❤