Recipes

I am planning on having some people over this weekend which both excites me and terrifies me at the same time. Now normally having people over wouldn’t have me in a tizzy – in fact it would be the opposite – I would be excited to prepare the menu, cook, and entertain. I love it….when it’s people I know well and/or friends who likely use their stove for storage and appreciate anything. But this weekend is a little different – there will definitely be faces I haven’t seen before.

So I am not doing something I never thought I would and testing some recipes before the weekend. Usually I am more in the spirit of just winging it, crossing my fingers, and hoping for the best, but this weekend calls for more So here is one of the recipes I tried and liked- a simple, easy to make Caprese appetizer. the trick is marinating the mozzerella and tomatoes before placing on the skewers. I am also making some with prosciutto in the middle and using grilled peaches instead of tomato for some others, but those all disappeared before I had a chance to take a picture.

Caprese Bites
Servings: 60 skewers
Serving Size: 1 skewer
Nutritional Info: 37.5 calories, 2.9g of fat, .3g carbohydrates, .1g dietary fiber, 2.5g of protein * 1 P+

Ingredients

• 3 cups grape tomatoes, different colors work great if you can find them
• 3 (8-oz.) containers fresh small mozzarella cheese balls
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black pepper
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped

Instructions

1. In a non-reactive bowl combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, and onion. Add the mozzarella and tomatoes and refrigerate for about one hour.
2. When ready to assemble, place one whole tomato on the bottom then a ball of cheese, and either another full tomato or 1/2 tomato.
3. If desired drizzle with leftover marinade. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Looking for more appetizer ideas? Check out these oldies but goodies

Lasagna Cupcakes

Chili Shrimp