Cheeseburger Hash Brown Cups with Arugula Caprese Salad
I had three different delicious components to last night's dinner, but this post will only cover two of them. The pickles, that I'm completely obsessed with, require a dedicated post just to themselves.
First let's talk about the main course. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand time, Emily Bites does some amazing work. And this recipe is no exception. The cups were hearty and flavorful and not difficult to make. Head over to her post for the full list of ingredients and recipe.
I followed the recipe pretty much to a T. The only thing I did differently was add chopped up pickles to half of the cups. My husband is not a fan of pickles (Appalling, I know!) so I left half of them plain. The consensus among the rest of us, (Chris, Laurie, and myself) was that the pickles were an awesome addition. If you are a pickle fan, DEFINITELY add some chopped up dill pickles! I added about 1.5 tablespoons to half the recipe, so the full recipe would require about 3 tablespoons.
Ok, next up is the side dish! I love a yummy caprese salad. The flavor combination of tomato, basil, mozzarella and balsamic is just perfection. This salad is one that I have pretty regularly if I have the ingredients on hand. It's super flavorful, gets in a couple servings of vegetables, at least one serving of oil, and can be adapted easily.
I usually don't use any lettuce in the salad, just tomatoes and basil, but I was short on tomatoes last night. So I added a few handfuls of arugula to beef up the salad. Definitely a good choice!
The only mozzarella I had around were a few fresh mozzarella sticks from Trader Joe's (think string cheese but made from mozzarella!) so I chopped those up and threw them in.
Quick side note: A few weeks ago I asked my parents for a random request. I wanted a basil and a mint plant in olive oil tins. The Greek's from the island often grow their basil in used olive oil tins...I think there is some old wives tale about the leftover olive oil helping the plants grow? I'm not sure. Either way, my parents' screen porch is full of basil planted in tins. My wonderful father obliged my request and gave up two of his olive oil tins for my plants. Now I have a little silly garden of herbs growing on my balcony. I think I need to Instagram them asap.
Annnnnyway, long story short, I picked the basil for the salad from my very own basil plant! I felt very domestic. Let's hope I don't kill the plants!
Back to the salad.....tomatoes, arugula, mozzarella, basil. Oh, and the dressing. I sprayed everything with some olive oil, added some salt and pepper, and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar. I thought (very briefly) about making a balsamic reduction, but I didn't really have enough time, energy, or vinegar to make it happen.
I really loved this meal. I was very pleased with how everything came together and how delicious it was. I know its a good meal when there aren't any leftovers! As far as the PointsPlus are concerned, it was really solid. The cheeseburger hash brown cups come in at 7 PointsPlus for two. I planned to eat three and ended up eating four because they were so amazing. Thank goodness I had a few spare points leftover from a small lunch! The side salad was only 3 PointsPlus and the pickles were 0! Not too shabby!
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