Call Me Caprese

Since the hilly 4 mile race I signed up for is just 13 days away, I thought I'd better get running today.  I've been getting exercise lately by doing DVD workouts but I have not done much running lately.  Mostly because I hate it.  So I headed out on a chilly, windy, semi-hilly (got to ease into these things) 3 mile run and it pretty much sucked.  I was kind of slow (35 min but my hip was getting sore, I feel old...) but when I got done I felt good and was glad I forced myself into it.  Now, let's get to the good part of this story...the lunch I had when I got home!  Being a little out of breath and a lot tired I didn't want anything too heavy or too involved.  I had all the fixings for the perfect lunch.  Open Faced Caprese Sandwich.  It's one of my faves.  So easy (took about 3 min) and so flippin tasty.

I was pretty lucky that Nelsy had busted out the bread machine again over the weekend but any crusty loaf or even an English muffin will do.

I happened to have some of that delicious fresh mozzarella left over from making Skillet Lasagna recently and tomatoes and fresh basil are almost always on hand at our house.  This is a perfect example of how a few fresh foods thrown together can taste so fantastic.  Toast up your bread, slice some tomatoes and cheese and chop up a little basil (you can use a few shakes of the dried stuff in a pinch).  When the toast is ready, drizzle a little olive oil on it, lightly sprinkle with garlic powder.  Layer the cheese, tomatoes, basil on the bread, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and hit it with a little salt and pepper.

Oh man, I have a really difficult time not using expletives in describing how good this was.  A perfect light lunch, it's simple, easy, quick and so freakin good.