Caprese Dip

This is a Pinterest recipe come to life and I'm so in love with this cheesy baked goodness. I made this for the first time last Christmas when Steve and I hosted my family get-together and I was craving it again so had to make it and of course share the recipe with you.

The original recipe I used can be found here.

What You Need:

• Grape or Cherry tomatoes*        
• 1 pint/2 cups halved
• Olive oil 
• 2 tsp
• Garlic  
• 2 cloves, minced 
• Neufchatel or Cream Cheese 
• 8 oz, softened at room temp
• Mozzarella (fresh) cheese 
• 10 oz shredded
• Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 C grated + handful (1/4-1/2 cup: I like cheese)  
• Basil Leaves 
• 1/4 cup chopped roughly
• Salt & Pepper 
• to taste

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking/cookie sheet with foil and place your halved tomatoes on the foil. Sprinkle the halves with 2 tsp of olive oil and a little salt. Bake tomatoes for 12-17 minutes; take out and set aside. 
2. While the tomatoes are in the oven, you can make your cheese mixture. In a mixing bowl combine the softened cream cheese with the shredded mozzarella. Mixing well, stir in and combine the 1/4 C parmesan, fresh basil, garlic, salt and pepper. 
3. Place tomatoes at the bottom of a baking dish, then top with the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top of cheese mixture. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly. Serve immediately with crackers, chips or toasted bread. 

My favorite with this is Tastefully Simple Beer Bread. I make the bread according to direction then take half of it (incase some people don't like crusty bread) cube it drizzle with olive oil and bake on a baking sheet. I keep it in the oven until crispy and it tastes amazing dipped in the Caprese Dip! 

Enjoy!! 

* Sidenote * In my photo I don't have cherry or grape tomatoes, that is a downfall of living in a small town - our grocery store doesn't carry them but I'd highly suggest using them because they taste WAY better.