Answer: Smitten Kitten’s Cubed, Hacked Caprese salad

I’ve been on a gotta-have-some-GOOD-food kick lately. And when I stumbled upon this recipe, I decided to forget about that whole couponing thing and just get the ingredients I needed to make this. (The fresh mozzarella did come with a $4 coupon off your next purchase coupon…)

I used my new “Elite” Cuisinart Food Processor to make homemade pesto (note to self: always use less garlic than the recipe calls for). Add a little red wine vinegar and…voila!

Deb from Smitten Kitchen calls this a “springboard” salad. I had never heard that term, but totally dig the idea. Once the basic dish is prepared, you can serve it in a variety of ways. Deb outlines 7 different ways to eat it. I chose to serve it with toasted bread sprinkled with olive oil (no salt…there was plenty of flavor in the salad itself).

Also on the menu for this week:

• Tomato Pie
• Quesadilla Pie

I just love the dishes I discover on Simply Recipes. The tomatoes from the vegetable garden we inherited with the house are all ripening and I’ve needed to find ways to use them hide them in dishes that are so good Ross can’t complain that he’s eating tomatoes. We had the Quesadilla Pie tonight. Even though I had to rush the baking time a bit to get Ross off to Bible study in time, it was still delicious. I love Mexican food, but can get bored with the basic quesadilla, burritos and taco salad. This new dish will fit right into the rotation!

Ok…time for some coupon clipping. I’m way behind!