Bruschetta

  Daren had a baseball game here last evening & we had eaten a really late lunch so I didn't fix dinner, but he did want a little something to eat after the game. And it had to be something easy & quick. He suggested Bruschetta which I thought was a great idea; so that is what we made.
  With lots of fresh tomatoes & basil it was really simple to put together & it was delicious....the perfect dish for late in the evening.

Bruschetta

1 medium tomato, chopped (I also used a few grape tomatoes)

8 fresh basil leaves coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (or garlic powder)

1/2 - 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

fresh cracked pepper to suit your taste

1/2-1 tsp salt

6 slices french bread

extra virgin olive oil

garlic (or garlic powder)

fresh Parmesan cheese

Rub garlic clove on one side of bread, then sprinkle with olive oil. Place oil side down & bake at 475* on the top rack in your oven until toasted. (I then flipped the oil side up to toast for just a bit). Meanwhile mix together tomatoes, basil, garlic,vinegar, oil, salt & pepper. When the bread is toasted remove from oven & top with the tomato mixture & fresh gated Parmesan cheese. Return to oven just long enough to melt the cheese. Remove & garnish with a little basil & cracked pepper.

  I just used ingredients that I had on hand to make this & I didn't have fresh garlic so I just used garlic powder instead. It worked fine, but I think that I would definitely like it better using fresh garlic. Also I think this is usually made using a french baguette instead of french bread....the french bread was great though; since it meant that we got to have larger portions ;)

  Well, I hope everyone has a terrific Tuesday....I get to spend part of mine at the dentist, so I'm not sure how terrific that will be :/ Oh well, it's got to be done sometime...might as well get it over with today!

Blessings to you,

~Sheila