Bruschetta

I was scrambling recently for an appetizer to take to a party and had very little time to throw something together.  I looked in my kitchen and all I had were tomatoes and garlic and I had so many things going on, I didn’t have any time to get to the store.  And when life hands you tomatoes and garlic, you make Bruschetta...I think that's the saying.

Bruschetta is one of those forgotten appetizers, I think.  But every single time I have it, I absolutely love it!

This was quick to throw together; I had a few hours of cleaning to do so I was able to marinate it a bit.  However, with these flavors, it would set up really quickly if you only had an hour.

Sorry about the lack of pictures!

Ingredients:

6 med/large tomatoes (I had heirlooms from my garden, but Romas or any other variety would work very well); chopped and deseeded.

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves (very important to use fresh!)

3 med garlic cloves, minced

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preparation:

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.  Add salt and pepper to taste – I sprinkled a little bit of salt and a bunch of fresh cracked pepper.

Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.  Remove from fridge, stir it up, and drain most of the juice.

Place the bruschetta in a serving bowl and serve with bagel crisps or toast pieces.  Bagel crisps work well to hold up big yummy bites of the bruschetta!

Nutrition:

Serves approx. 12 (about 3 T each)

Calories 60 / Carbs 4g / Fat 5g / Protein 1g / Fiber 1g / Sodium 3mg