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