Caprese Salad

I saw this recipe on TV recently & it looked so delicious I made it for dinner that same night. The only problem I had was that it called for fresh basil & I could not find a single store that had it in stock. So I used a bit of dried instead. It was still delicious but but there is just nothing like fresh. Recipe below...enjoy.

Caprese Salad

6 ripe roma (plum) tomatoes - cut in half lengthwise & seeds removed
12 oz fresh mozzarella cheese sliced
2 cloves fresh garlic minced
fresh basil
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Place tomatoes on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil & vinegar. Sprinkle minced garlic over tomatoes and season with a little salt & pepper & roast in a 250 degree oven for 2- 2 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven drizzle with a little more olive oil, salt & pepper & let cool slightly. Then layer tomatoes alternating with the mozarella slices over a bed of mixed field greens or other lettuce of choice. Sprinkle snipped fresh basil over and serve.

Jakes favorite blueberry muffins

I found this recipe online a few years back & it is now the only blueberry muffin we make in this house. I try not to make them too often though because they are not the healthiest food...plus Jake loves them & eats them too fast. So for us they are just an occasional treat. It may seem like there is too much of the topping but use it all...it cooks down into a delicious crispy streusel topping. Sorry for the blurry photo.

Recipe is below. Enjoy.

Blueberry Muffins

1 & 1/2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 C milk
1 C fresh blueberries

Topping

1/2 C sugar
1/3 C flour
1/4 C butter cubed
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Mix all topping ingredients together with a fork or pastry cutter. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Place the oil into a 1 cup measuring cup. Add the egg & enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this into the flour mixture. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin cups almost to the top and then sprinkle with topping mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes till topping is golden brown. Makes 8-10 muffins.