Sides| Broiled Caprese Tomato Sliders

There are three ingredients that can never go wrong when put together; basil, fresh mozzarella and tomato.  It's like music to my ears... er tongue. So sweet, so delicious so simple and scrumptious. When I think of summer, I think of these three amigos and everything is lollypops and gumdrops. 

This recipe is great alone or try drizzling extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegrette on top. If you really want to go crazy and take this from side dish to main dish, put it on a fresh baguette and you've made yourself a summer sandy (short for sandwich ya know). Enjoy!

Broiled Caprese Tomato Sliders

tomato, sliced

sliced fresh mozzarella

fresh pesto

salad greens, chopped

1.  Turn on your broiler.

2. Slice tomato and mozzarella. 

3. Lay sliced tomatoes onto a cookie sheet, top with mozzarella and put into broiler. Broil until cheese is nice and bubbly. Take out of oven. 

4. Top cheesy tomatoes with desired amount of pesto, then top off with chopped salad greens. Add salt and pepper as needed. 

Dinner | Chicken in Tomato Basil Cream

{Just so you know, I added a package of mushrooms to this recipe 

in case you were wondering what those brown thingys were in the photo}

Chicken in Tomato Basil Cream

by More Favorites pg 150

1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

dash red pepper flakes

2 (15 oz) cans tomatoes, undrained 

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In batches brown chicken on both sides, cooking until no longer pink. Remove from skillet and place in a 9x13" dish. 

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the same skillet and cook onion, garlic and red pepper flakes until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add undrained tomatoes and simmer an additional 5 minutes. (I used fresh vine tomatoes. We had a huge costco size bunch that need to be used up, so I threw them in the blender and until I got 1 cup of blended tomatoes and then also used one can of stewed tomatoes) Stir in cream and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Add basil, salt and pepper. (I also threw in a package of fresh sliced mushrooms)

Pour tomato sauce over the chicken in baking dish. Bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until bubbly. 

SO creamy and yummy and warm and comforting! Serve this delicious dish over your favorite hot pasta or with some rice. We coupled ours with fresh asparagus and parmesan. YUM! A new family favorite!