The Surprised Gourmet

When I’m looking for a simple, quick and easy dish to prepare at the end of a long day, I turn to a recipe that’s a favorite at our house.

I found EASY BRUSCHETTA always seems to hit the spot for us. We even enjoy it for breakfast. I’ll top the bruschetta with over-easy fried eggs and it’s a hit at the picnic table for a breakfast outing.

When preparing this dish I sometimes use the oldest loaf of French or Italian bread I have on hand. The older bread works best as it doesn’t become too moist under the ingredients. You can even purchase day-old bread for this recipe.

I slice the bread diagonally and usually about ¾ to 1 inch thick. Be sure to preheat your oven to 350 degrees while you’re preparing your ingredients.

Place the bread slices on a baking sheet. You may want to put the slices in the oven for about a minute to lightly toast them before you begin layering the ingredients. Next cover the slices with the seasoned tomato sauce. If I’m in a hurry I just use plain old ketchup. It works fine, especially in a pinch. I use the back of a teaspoon to smooth the sauce (ketchup) out making sure the slices are covered completely with a generous amount. Sprinkle Italian Seasoning lightly over each slice.

Next layer your Canadian bacon over the sauce mixture. You can add as little or as much bacon as you wish. If you don’t have Canadian bacon on hand you can use regular sandwich-style ham, just cut it into sections to fit the bread slices.

Slice the tomato thinly and overlap it on top of the other ingredients. Here again, depending on your taste, you can cut down on the amount of tomatoes on each slice.

Top all this off with a generous amount of Mozzarella shredded cheese. Be sure to clean up any excess cheese on the baking sheet otherwise you’ll have a hard time cleaning up.

Place the baking sheet in the pre-heated oven for about 8 minutes. You’ll want to keep a close eye on it as ovens vary in temperature. When the cheese is melted like you want, turn the oven to broil on high and continue cooking for about 30 to 45 seconds to brown the slices slightly. Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh basil, finely minced, and serve.

This dish makes enough for 3 to 4 people or you can enjoy the leftovers the next day. It keeps well in the refrigerator. This is also a recipe you can play with by adding any ingredients you like.

This is quick, simple and easy to make. It’s more filling then you might think.

One other note: you could even cut the slices into bite-size pieces, add a toothpick to each and have a tasty appetizer.

Have you made a dish like this before? What other ingredients would you try on it? Thanks for dropping by.

Cucina felice!