Mini Pizzettes

Tonight was one of those nights where we found ourselves debating dinner while starving! As we started dinner preparations, the hubs looked around and decided to prepare a snack - using a stale baguette and other readily available ingredients. And, voila! An amazing appetizer was born! You're going to love this, trust me! Personally, I love pizza, but I always feel like I need to make a healthier choice - this satisfies every craving while limiting the amount of cheese and eliminating the need to make a whole pizza!  

Ingredients (amounts are dependent upon the size of your baguette & amount of slices used)

• 1 Stale baguette bread (we did about 10 slices with some baguette left-over)
• EVOO (spray or drizzled)
• 3 Campari Tomatoes, Handfull of Grape Tomatoes, or 1 Medium Heirloom Tomato
• 1/4 Cup Shredded Low-Fat Mozzarella Cheese (for my vegan friends, you can leave out altogether)
• Dash of Salt
• Dash of Ground Black Pepper
• Dash of Onion Powder
• Dash of Garlic Powder
• Pinch of Dried Fennel Seed
• Pinch of Dried Oregano
• Pinch of Dried Thyme
• Pinch of Dried Red Pepper Flakes
• 8 Teaspoons of Basil Pesto (~1 tsp/baguette slice; we used Costco pre-prepared, or substitute with Julienned Fresh Basil Leaves)

Instructions 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 365F degrees.
2. Cut the stale baguette (carefully, as it will be hard) with a bread knife into approximately half-inch slices.
3. Spray/drizzle a baking sheet with EVOO, then place the bread slices onto the sheet.
4. Spray/drizzle the bread slices with a light coating of EVOO.
5. Cut enough of the tomatoes into 1/8th-inch medallions that will cover the bread slices.
6. Salt-n-pepper the tomatoes to taste.
7. Evenly distribute the cheese - lightly sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over the tomatoes on each bread slice.
8. Spice the grouping of bread slices with dashes of onion & garlic powders, and with sprinkles of dried oregano, dried fennel seed, dried thyme, and dried red pepper flakes (the latter to your spice liking).
9. Bake for approximately 6 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted.
10. Once out of the oven, place on a serving platter and dollop a teaspoon of basil pesto (or sprinkle with julienned fresh basil leaves).