Tomato Basil & Mozzarella Sandwiches

We had a happy accident. Typically every year we plant a couple of raised garden beds with the kiddos. I think it’s good for them to learn how. It gives us something to do throughout the summer and of course fresh tastes best…homegrown tastes even better.

This year, with two under two in the house I opted out. Mother nature had other plans. Some of our tomatoes reseeded themselves along with a few herbs. My wonderful hubby took it upon himself to tend to the gardens with Mister C. C loved taking care of the tomatoes all summer and was beyond excited when they were finally ripe enough to pick. (Mind you the child won’t eat his tomatoes but I digress…)

He takes his work harvesting very seriously.

With this beautiful basket of tomatoes on the counter, lunch was begging to be served. I scrounged through the kitchen and managed to come up with this…

Not bad right? Yup it’s as good as it looks. Inspired by the bruschetta the hubs and I often make I grabbed some left over sub rolls (from a previous dinner of meatball subs) along with some shredded mozzarella, a little fresh basil, and some creamy balsamic vinaigrette.

Come on, you want to make some for yourself don’t you? Yes, I thought you might! With the ingredients in the house this was ready quickly. That means this Mama CAN eat before the babies wake up from their naps.

Slice a sub roll in half and place it on a cookie sheet, drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over the bread

and line with sliced tomatoes. Next, top the tomatoes with 4-5 fresh basil leaves. It should look a little something like this…

Finish by topping with shredded mozzarella (the fresher the better). I will say that all I had on hand was the prepackaged pizza kind but this was still yummy. It would have been ten times better if I’d had fresh on hand.

Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 10min or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the bread are starting to brown and crisp. What you are looking at took exactly 10 minutes.