Fresh Bruschetta!

I technically used this recipe, although it's pretty self-explanatory if you're familiar with bruschetta! Also, my listed ingredients will be slightly different than the ingredients on the linked recipe. I'd follow mine if I were you, because I can confirm that it was excellent.

I just want to preface by saying that this is my perfect meal. It is really no-frills, and the only thing that makes or breaks it is the quality of your ingredients. Get Farmer's Market tomatoes, and the freshest basil and bread you can find. Just do it, it will make this recipe the best it can be.

So, because Mr. Cheap dislikes tomatoes, I made him turkey-mozzarella-ranch little open-faced sandwiches , and those will be in the pictures as well. He gave them two thumbs up, but said they need pizza sauce.

Ingredients 

1 baguette of crusty bread

3 Tbs. olive oil

3 cloves garlic

3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

1/3 cup of basil

1/3 cup of parmesan cheese (shaved is better than grated!)

enough salt

enough black pepper

Firstly, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Slice baguette into relatively thick slices, and place evenly spread apart on cookie sheet. Peel and chop the 3 cloves of garlic. In a cup, mix the chopped garlic with olive oil. Spread (or brush) mixture on sliced baguette. Bake for 10 minutes!

While the "garlic" bread is baking, chop the tomatoes and basil and mix it together in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. To prepare for scooping the tomato mixture, find a slotted spoon, so the juices drain a bit when putting mixture on the baguette.

Me! I just recently bought the apron at an antique store.

Take the bread out of the oven. Does your kitchen smell like delicious garlic bread? Is the bread golden brown? If not, throw it back in for 2 - 5 more minutes. 

Yes, I put some of the mozzarella balls on a few of mine. As if anyone can resist melted mozzarella cheese? Come on, get real.

The mozzarella we used for the turkey breads!

Some close-ups of Mr. Cheap's turkey-mozzarella ones. Same recipe as the Bruschetta, after the olive oil/garlic brushing step, just add turkey and cheese and spices (dried onion, oregano, and basil) before you put it in the oven (same amount of cook time).

Once the bread is done, spoon with a slotted spoon the tomato mixture on top of it. Then, top with parmesan cheese. I used grated, but would've preferred shaved...it's really the superior way to eat parmesan. Now that I have time to reflect, using the back of a spoon to push the smushy center of the bread down a bit would better facilitate scooping loads of yummy tomato onto it. I did not push down the middle, and my tomato was messy and didn't stay on the bread. It was still a perfect meal, though.

 Now, EAT! Or I will stab you!