Tomato Bread Appetizer

I have this tradition of putting together a set of family recipe cards for the brides in my family. And every time I collect recipes from my family members I find a few that I simply must try. My Auntie Annie shared this recipe, and I’ve held on to the card for a few months now waiting to try it. Yesterday was Friday, and it’s Lent, so I was looking for something for lunch that was yummy but easy and didn’t involve peanut butter OR jelly. I found this recipe card stuck in the back of my recipe binder and simply had to try it! It really was a perfect light lunch!

Tomato Bread Appetizer:

Preheat oven to 500°. Slice one loaf of French or Italian bread (not the baguette size) lengthwise. Spread the two slices of bread with real butter. Sprinkle with about granulated garlic power. Thinly slice about 3-4 fresh tomatoes and place on the bread. (If the tomatoes are juicy, dab them with paper towels prior to placing on the bread.) Sprinkle the bread with salt, drizzle with olive oil, and a final sprinkle of oregano. Top the bread with slices of mozzarella cheese (about 2- 8 oz. packages).

Bake until the cheese melts. If you want to lightly brown the cheese, then do a quick one minute broil. Serve hot.

****I had to improvise a bit with what I had on hand. I used Trader Joe’s Garlic & Herb butter (oh my!), and I used shredded mozzarella instead of sliced and I also used slices of bread instead of slicing the loaf lengthwise. Here’s what mine looked like before I stuck them in the oven: