Name: Caprese Sliders
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 lb ground sirloin; Salt and pepper; 6 slider rolls; 6 1/4- inch thick slices fresh mozzarella cheese; 6 1/4- inch thick fresh tomato slices; 12 basil leaves; Balsamic glaze, optional

Looking for a quick and easy recipe with a fresh seasonal twist? If you love tomatoes, these Caprese Sliders are for you.

With all I’ve been writing about back to school season, you’d think that I was among the parents who weaned their children off later bedtimes and sleeping-in weeks in advance so that they had a seamless transition back to school. You’d probably think that all their summer work was done weeks in advance too, right?

Yea. Not so much. Color me a back to school parent failure. In fact, as I sit here writing this with my alarm set for 6:25 am, I am still in wild denial that tomorrow is really their first day back at school.

This summer just felt so short. Don’t get me wrong, much fun was had — fireworks, beach days and all that. But another week would have made it so much more vibrant. It would have allowed us to breathe out that summer feeling for just long enough to have it be perfect. But, whatever, I will take what we had.

While I failed in prepping the kids for their new schedule, I have succeeded at something really important: developing a cache of super fast, quick and easy recipes that we love. That’s going to come in handy this week and beyond.

Making Slider Patties for a Quick and Easy Recipe

These vibrant little burgers? They take only 20 minutes to whip up. Score!

Actually, they are Caprese Sliders, which is a fancy way of saying they aren’t as large as typical burgers and come with a built-in caprese salad. Turns out, this size works much better for our family — the smaller burgers are just right for the kids and I, and my husband is more satisfied too since he can have a second burger without it being a food overload.

And the creamy fresh mozzarella, juicy sweet tomatoes and fresh basil? They make these burgers sublime …

Quick and easy recipes are where it’s at this back to school season.

Caprese Sliders

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb ground sirloin
Salt and pepper
6 slider rolls
6 1/4- inch thick slices fresh mozzarella cheese
6 1/4- inch thick fresh tomato slices
12 basil leaves
Balsamic glaze, optional

Instructions

Preheat your grill over its medium setting or prepare charcoals for grilling.
Season the ground sirloin with salt and pepper. Divide into six equal portions and form into 4-inch diameter patties. For best results, press your thumb into the center of each patty. Grill to desired doneness, flipping once – about 7-10 minutes total.
Place the patties each on a slider roll and top with a slice of fresh mozzarella, tomato and two basil leaves. If desired, drizzle with balsamic glaze.
Enjoy.