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Menu of Musings | Recipes | Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad | My CHEAP & Easy Recipe

Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad | My CHEAP & Easy Recipe

February 19, 2016 by Billie Hillier Leave a Comment

Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 Large Tomato, small wedges
  • 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, bocconcini {or small pieces same size as tomatoes}
  • 2 tablespoons onion, red and finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
  • 2 tablespoons Balsamic reduction
  • 1 tablespoon Shredded Parmesan cheese
  • basil, chiffonade
  • Romaine lettuce to garnish

Instructions

  1. Chop tomato into small wedges {I cut in 1/2 and lay flat, then slice lengthwise, and then slice into 5 cuts for a total of 20 pieces for the tomato}
  2. Spread tomatoes evenly on serving plate
  3. Spread mozzarella cheese on serving plate
  4. Sprinkle the red onion over the tomatoes and cheese
  5. Drizzle with the olive oil
  6. Drizzle with the Balsamic reduction
  7. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese
  8. Sprinkle the basil
  9. NOTE: Sometimes I will make a chiffonade from the Romaine lettuce as the base

Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad

I love love love a good Caprese Salad. It’s my go to dish any time of year, more so in the summer when I can find amazing tomatoes to go with it. This Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad recipe is different than my normal Caprese Salad… I call it my BJs Brewhouse Tomato and Mozzarella Salad copycat recipe. LOL

If you want to make this cheap I will give you the tips I use below but if you want to go all out then think about going big and buy either some Kumato tomatoes or Heirloom tomatoes. For me, I use Kumato for taste and the Heirloom for pretty. For the tomatoes you see in the photo I used 1 small Kumato tomato and a medium size “on the vine” tomato.

Now, let’s talk how to make this Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad cheap. Warning… some of you will not like my tips because 1) I shop at Walmart and 2) I do not buy organic. Sorry, I haven’t jumped on the organic boat yet and yes, I shop Walmart. Walmart is my favorite because we eat a lot of produce and I save over 70%+ on my purchases.

Produce: I price match all my produce at Walmart where I can get it cheap cheap cheap. Instead of paying over $1 per pound for my tomatoes I can pick them for as low as $.25 per pound {depending on the sales}, red onions for about $.33 per pound and romaine lettuce for as low as $.33 per head. When you use a lot of produce like we do… the savings adds up F-A-S-T. {Did you see that each time I price match I save over 70% on my items?!}

Cheeses: I buy my cheese at Smith’s {aka Kroger} when they are on clearance. It’s cheese. It’s fine if it’s close to it’s best used by date. By buying my mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on clearance, I save over 50% on each.

Out of all the grocery stores in Las Vegas, Smith’s always has a nice clearance section in their cold food sections. When I enter the store I always hit the cheese case first.

Note: for the mozzarella you see in the photo, I actually used a flat roll of mozzarella instead of mozzarella balls, because…. well, it was on clearance.

Okay my reduction photo sucks because this part of the kitchen washes them out and I am still learning my camera. We use a lot of balsamic vinegar in our house and Costco is our go to place for it and our olive oil.

Buying fresh herbs is E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E so I grow my own basil. Actually we grow all of our own herbs except for fresh cilantro as I can buy it really cheap at the store. In our herb garden we grow:

  • Basil, various
  • Catnip {aka Kitty Krack for our furbabies}
  • Chives, various
  • Dill, various
  • Lemongrass
  • Marjoram, various
  • Mint, various
  • Oregano, various
  • Thyme, various

What is your favorite “go to” salad?

Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad

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