A little of this, a little of that

Basically, I'm cheap. My mom taught me my percentages in the clearance section of every store. As I mentioned in my last post I love to just throw things together for dinner. Oftentimes because of that I can open my fridge and look at what's left and build a meal around it. This helps keep my food costs down as well as reduce my food waste. There is nothing in the world I hate more than seeing myself, or someone else, have to throw something away because it went bad before it could be used. First of all because it's a WASTE OF MONEY but secondly because it's a waste of resources. To think of the energy that went into growing and shipping the spinach that is now wilted and getting tossed makes me feel so terrible. So, tonight I am trying to avoid waste and create a tasty meal...here goes!

I have found;
a 1/3 of a can of diced tomatoes sitting in a plastic container in the back of my fridge
day old home baked bread
leftover Parmesan and  Mozzarella cheeses from making lasagna
a tube of pre-chopped basil (this stuff is pretty cool, might I add)

Are you thinking what I'm thinking...oh yeah, BRUSCETTA! Mmm mmm....

Preheat the oven to 350. Cut bread in 1/2 inch slices. Cut the top off of a clove of garlic and rub each slice of bread generously with it then drizzle on some olive oil. Toast the bread in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, keeping an eye on it to ensure your fire alarm doesn't go off.

Meanwhile, mix together the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning to taste (I also added red pepper flakes because I love them),  and about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.

Once the toasted bread is out of the oven spread on some pre-chopped basil (or just add basil leaves to the diced tomato mixture, totally up to you and what you have on hand). Spoon on some of the tomato mixture, then sprinkle on the cheeses. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.

You can eat this alone for dinner or serve with salad greens.

Easy, delicious, cheap! My favorite kind of food. How about you? Do you often clean out your fridge with a certain dish? What is the weirdest combination of leftovers you've ever served?

Until next time,

xoxo Stacie