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Summer is a true treat. Our pace slows down and our energy picks up. There is more time for play and less time spent on work. The goal is to spend more time relaxing with friends and family. It is so nice to enjoy the fresh fruit and veggies that the summer sun yields. With fewer hours spent in the kitchen we crave quick, light and simple recipes. With fast and easy summer popsicles to fresh salsas, you can spend just minutes in the kitchen and loads of time outside…..where we all belong. I will include this recipe in the Summer Fest event, this week the spotlight is on Herbs, Greens and Beans. I highlight the herb Basil in this recipe.
The fresher your ingredients are the less you need to do with them. When I think of bruschetta what comes to mind is an al fresco dinner paired with great friends and good times. Bruschetta is toasty grilled bread, fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil tossed with a fruity olive oil. Here it gets amped up and portable with gooey mozzarella. This handheld grilled cheese bruschetta makes it easy to  mingle and munch. They are mini pizza delights!
Eat one and you have a snack or a mini meal. Eat two with a side salad and you have a quick and easy lunch or dinner. Beware of  cherry tomato splatters as these red beauties have lots of juice!
I cut the circle shapes out of the sprouted grain bread with cookie cutters. If you choose to go smaller in cutter size, perhaps an inch and a half in diameter you can have great little passed appetizers for parties. Instead of 3 cherry tomatoes on a 4 inch round you can put just one on a smaller shape.
Your taste buds will thank you and so will your tummy. These grilled cheese bruschettas will keep you satisfied and ready to take on those lazy, crazy summer days!
A trip to the mountains helps to put everything in perspective. It’s all about enjoying time with family & friends and breathing in crisp, clean air. Experiencing everything life has to offer.
This fresh, well balanced bruschetta pairs well with the high altitude hiking we have been doing in Telluride. There has been more rain than usual, but that does not stop us from having fun. The rain brings more green trees and grass and makes the bluebird sunny skies seem even more vibrant when they appear.
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Mozzarella, Basil, Tomato Grilled Cheese Bruschetta
4 servings (with 4 inch round cookie cutter)
NOTES
- Adjust your ratios of tomatoes. cheese and spices according to taste preference.
- As always, use your own taste buds to determine how you want to flavor your Grilled Cheese Bruschetta. My ingredient lists are wide open for interpretation.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 pieces Sprouted Grain Bread (I use Ezekiel & Alvarado St. Bakery brands) cut into rounds
- one pint Cherry Tomatoes
- 4 to 8 ounces ounces Mozzarella Cheese
- handful fresh Basil, slice thinly
- Garlic Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- Garlic Oil or Olive Oil
METHOD
- Pre heat oven to 400˚F with rack in the center of oven. Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil, garlic salt & pepper. Roast tomatoes for about 20 minutes or until the skins have popped and the tomatoes are softened.
- Set Broiler to low heat. Brush a light layer of garlic oil on bread. Toast bread about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from oven.
- Top each toasted bread round with about 6 cherry tomatoes. Press a round of cheese (1-2 ounces) gently on top of the tomatoes (Wear an apron & beware of tomato splatter!)
- Low broil for about 6-8 minutes the bruschetta’s until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Watch carefully at towards the end of cook time that your grilled cheese bruschetta do not burn.
- Top with fresh basil chiffonade, cracked pepper and garlic salt.
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Bruschetta Recipe Links
- Tomato Bruschetta Taste Food
- Tomato Bruschetta and Pasta Jungle Frog
- Mushroom Bruschetta Kimberly Belle
- Corn and Basil Dip Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body
- Sundried Tomato, Feta and Basil Bruschetta Kitchen Simplicity
OMG, those look so irresistible! Droolworthy…
Cheers,
Rosa
This Bruschetta looks fabulous, healthy and so creative! Your pictures are awesome, and you give so much fabulous information in just one post.
Marla, that looks amazing!
Oh my gosh Marla, I am wanting this for breakfast!! YUM girl 🙂 Beautiful photos, how gorgeous is Telluride?! Wow 🙂
These looks super tasty, fresh and delicious! I can’t wait to try them. What a great spin on bruschetta.
This is beyond beautiful! Beautiful, fresh ingredients with really lovely photos to show them off. It looks as though you had a wonderful time in Telluride.
I definitely think fresh when I think bruschetta. I’ve actually had bruschetta twice in the past couple weeks. It’s one of my favorite summer treats. The grilled cheese version looks super tasty!
Oh! The grilled cheese bruschetta looks absolutely delicious, very inviting!
OMG!!!!!!!!! My mouth is watering just looking at those photos! Telluride has inspired you yet again. Beautiful place, beautiful food! You have outdone yourself yet again!j
good ole ezekial bread… cute. this sounds luscious and full of flavor- tomatoes are so good right now…have a great weeki
What a great idea for a quick and easy appetizer. Plus something else I can use my little tomatoes on (if I can quit picking and eating them).
Your bruschetta looks delicious and your pics are gorgeous, Marla! The yogurt challenge sounds like a ton of fun, I’m going to have to really think about a recipe!
Thanks for stopping through today. That bruschetta looks so good I’m salivating – not a good thing when you’re at the library without a snack. Heading home to look for cherry tomatoes in the garden. Thanks.
Andrea, I wish I had cherry tomatoes in my garden. Problem is if I did they probably would not last very long with my lack of gardening skills 🙂
Aggie, if you were closer I would stop by & bring you some!
Faith, you must enter one of your fab recipes into this battle!
Oh my goodness this is making my mouth water at 11pm!!
I haven’t seen bruschetta with melted cheese before. Sounds heavenly.
Okay my stomach literally just growled! First time visiting your blog and it is a happy surprise. =)
Your photographs are stunning! Glad to have found your blog. Love it!!
Thank you very much for sharing this. I have subscribed to your RSS feed. Please keep up the good work.
WOW! That looks fantastic! That first picture, especially, is GORGEOUS! I love your photos!
melted cheese gets my saliva glands going every time. every time. 🙂
Oh, bruschetta… Oh, melted cheese to go with it… It’s too much!
I’ve made bruschetta with a big hunk of mozzarella on top before, but I’ve never melted it… awesome idea! These look incredible – rich and warm, but at the same time cool and refreshing for summer. Great job on this lovely post, Marla!
I’m with you, Marla. Simple, fresh, and quick really sum up what I want to cook and eat during these hot summer days. And the ingredients of your wonderful bruschetta really hit ALL of my buttons in terms of what sounds good!
Great idea and cute presentation. Grilled cheese and tomato soup are such a classic that it only makes sense to combine the flavors in a different way.
Your twist on bruschetta looks wonderful! Love your photos as well.
Okay. Grilled Cheese Bruschetta = brilliant! They look delicious! Thanks for sharing.
For this week’s Summer Fest theme I put together a round up of Hungry Mama recipes for greens and herbs including Kale Chips, Polenta Creamed Spinach, Hand-Held Syrian Spinach Pies, Tarragon Blackberry Grapefruit pops and more!!
Enjoy!
oh my yum! bruschetta is one of my favorite appetizers. Yours looks beautiful!
Marla…with those photos…you made a regular bruschetta look fabulous!
Great idea with the circular shapes ;o) The kids must be thrilled.
Ciao for now,
Claudia
Marla,
WOW, those look fantastic. I’ve posted on bruschetta before and on grilled cheese before, but never on this, the ultimate combination. Genius!
Marla,
Here’s an easy, highly adaptable frozen yogurt recipe to share–you can even turn the mix into yogurt pops, if you have molds. This is an excellent recipe to get kids excited about cooking and about trying new fruits!
http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/07/choose-your-own-froyo.html
Enjoy!
Love the grilled cheese!
Here’s my entry for the Stonyfield contest!
http://www.sweetandsavoryfood.com/2010/04/greek-yogurt-pancakes.html
Greek Yogurt Pancakes – pics, ingredients, blog title, etc. are all on that link. Please let me know if you need anything else!
Thanks Marla!
Ally
Yeah, Ally thanks for submitting these great looking Greek Yogurt Pancakes!
Kim, thanks for submitting your Frozen Yogurt 🙂
That bruschetta looks so mouth wateringly good! We’re in the last month of Winter here and that would be so good to welcome Spring and Summer 😀
Love your idea of the bread rounds. They look wonderful! (We both got a “round” this week. Mine was polenta).
Looks so great, I love your photos!
Basil is far and above my favorite summer herb! I love this preparation…totally want it for lunch.
The Stoneyfield yogurt battle sounds like so much fun! I’m going to start thinking about my entry…
You had me at cheese on the bruschetta!
I will participate in the yogurt challenge! I hope to get it to you this weekend!
I am so excited about how many of you guys are joining in on this fun recipe battle! Everyone has such creative recipes. On Friday, August 13th I will be posting who we have on board so far. You can enter until 8/18/2010. We will have to get lots of folks to stop by and cast votes on the 20th.
Mmmm yum! You have taken cheese on toast to the next level. Delicious.
*kisses* HH
Cheese on bruschetta…Sold!
I could eat this bruschetta daily! The yogurt battle sounds like loads of fun! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
This looks delicious– and thanks for stopping by my blog to add this to the Summer Fest party! (I totally love your site.) My addition this week was this Wax and Butter Bean Herbed Salad:
http://www.thewrightrecipes.com/savory/summer-fest-herbs-greens-beans
Can’t wait to see what you cook up next week for stone fruit!
Hello Marla. First time visiting. I like your blog alot. It’s fresh, colorful and the recipes looks delicious. Plus I love bruschettas…… particularly this one… mmm so good..
The melted mozzarella looks so great. i wish I could grab one right now!
You never cease to create delicious, beautiful and healthy spins on traditional recipes. This is one heck of a bruschetta!
Simple is always best – but you have to have exceptional ingredients – and those tomatoes look like heaven!
🙂
valerie
This looks mouthwatering! Simple and quick to prepare, but tastes heavenly!
Brilliant! They look as delicious as they sound… cant wait to try them. And your photography… just beautiful~
Hi Marla,
Thank you for linking to TasteFood. It was so nice to meet you last year at BlogHer Food. I hope to see you there again this year!
What fun. And what a great appetizer. Those would be nice party treats!
Just an fyi, bruschetta doesn’t have such a limited definition. If you go to Italy, you’d see the compositions of it are endless. Any number of varieties & combinations of veggies (often cooked, though never cooked *on* the bread), and yes, most certainly including mozzarella, though again, this is never cooked on the bread, it is fresh. You also want to use a thicker bread, not just regular sandwich bread. =)
Anyhow, as non-authentic as this version is =P, it looks mighty tasty and I will definitely be trying it out at some point in the future. =D
Mel: It was meant to be unauthentic as are most of my recipes. Thanks for stopping by and for the great info 🙂
Wow, glad I saw you post this on FB today, AMAZING! 🙂
This sounds (and looks) amazing! It’s definitely one I’ll have to try this summer!