CAP: Tomato & Mozzarella

This is another one of those recipes that you will appreciate because it is a penny pincher, which is good if you are freaking out because your DBA is down to 3 digits (5 if you include the change, but I don't know why you would because you can't really buy anything with the $.14). One of the staples at Homeplate is the panini. The line that forms in front of the panini counter is shocking and so intimidating that most people avoid eating at Homeplate. What is scarier than the line, though, is the price of a panini. There is no reason why a panini should cost more than a sandwich. We glorify the panini because it is pressed and toasty, and has a foreign sounding name (here I am merely playing devil's advocate, a panini is actually better than a sandwich for all of those reasons) At any rate, this Cheap-Ass-Panini is bomb.

You will need:

2 slices of your favorite kind of bread (pick one that toasts well)

Tomatoes

Mozzarella cheese

Basil

This is another one of those dishes that doesn't require much work until after you pay because if you combine the ingredients too early you will end up over paying. The first thing you want to do is skip the panini line (seriously, you're only getting bread) and ask for two toasted slices of your preferential bread (you don't really have much of a choice: it's wheat or "french," which means white). Then you want to head over to the fridge that stores all of the yogurt and stuff and grab yourself one (or two if you want) of the prepackaged mozzarella and tomato salads. That is all you're paying for (and it costs a whole lot less than a panini). If you head over to where the condiments are kept you can finish the rest of the recipe, which is very simple. Put the mozzarella salad(s) in between the two slices of bread (I would recommend ripping up the basil leaf it comes with and dispersing it throughout the panini) and then toast it (open faced so that the cheese melts more). The only way in which this is different from an actual panini is that it is not going to be as compact, but it's a small price to pay (note the awesome play on words). Then...

Dig into your CAP brought to you by DDS and Sam, I am.