Mozzarella Tomato Stack

Hi everyone!  First of all, I have to apologize.  I have been a little behind in posting but I've just returned from visiting the sweetest little newborn!  My sister had her baby girl on May 23rd.  My little guy and I were so blessed to meet her just about a 5 days after she was born.  So little yet so full of life!  We had the most wonderful time loving on her and spending some QT with the fam in Indiana.  We even made it over to Ohio to introduce my little guy to some extended family there!  It was a great trip but it's also nice to be home with my loved ones here.

As I'm gathering my thoughts between the dryer buzzing and the oven timer beeping, I'll share with you a quick way to make a simple salad a little fancier!

We love Mozzarella Tomato or Caprese Salad around here but just laying the tomato and cheese on a plate can be pretty boring.  So, we tried stacking it like you see in those ritzy restaurants and it turned out pretty cute!

Here is how I made it:

Mozzarella Tomato Stack

Ingredients:

ripe heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced

fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

olive oil

balsamic glaze

salt and pepper

Directions:

Layer the sliced tomato and the sliced mozzarella as high as you want!  Drizzle the top with a little olive oil and balsamic glaze.  Season with salt and pepper.

We enjoyed these Mozzarella Tomato Stacks with our favorite Garden Turkey Burgers from Fresh Market and some sweet potato tortilla chips.  Yum!

Those chocolate cupcakes are just about cooled.  Time to frost!  Ta ta for now :)

Mini Bagel Garlic Bites

Seems like we always have some type of bread wasting away in the pantry.  This time it was the bag of mini bagels.  I bought them thinking the kids would eat them with cream cheese for breakfast or for a snack.  That lasted one day and they were on to the next thing (frozen breakfast sandwiches or leftover pizza) or back to that other thing...Eggo waffles, Krave, or Fruity Pebbles cereal.  So, I needed something to do with these mini bagels.  I really hate wasting food unless it's expired then it goes in the trash!

We were having Italian night with spaghetti and these Turkey & Pork Meatballs I ordered from Schwan's along with a side salad, but something was missing.  Ah, yes...garlic bread!  That is when these little bites were born.

Here is how I made this easy side to go along with any Italian meal.

Mini Bagel Garlic Bites

Ingredients:

4 mini bagels, sliced and cut in half

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 fresh garlic clove, minced (You could use more here if you like more garlic flavor.)

Directions:

Preheat your oven broiler on high.  Slice the bagels and cut in half creating 4 "bites" per mini bagel.  Mix together the butter and garlic.  Spread a little garlic butter on each "bite" covering the top.  Position the "bites" on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.  Broil in the oven until lightly toasted.  This won't take long.  Make sure you watch them so they don't burn.  Serves 4.

Delizioso!