My friend loves me. As a matter of fact, she loves me so much that she showed up at my house with a truck full of fresh vegetables. It was like manna from Heaven! Corn, squash, cabbage, green peppers, green beans and tomatoes – I was SO excited!!!

I love any reason to don my apron and experiment in the kitchen and this gave me a very good reason to go “play”. So I did. I made spicy sandwich relish with green peppers and hot Hungarian peppers. I made savory sauces out of the tomatoes. I made vegetable broth for the winter. Let’s just say my freezer is full and very well stocked.

The last thing I made was stuffed tomatoes. I have never attempted these before; so I was a little nervous. Tom (my husband) is not a huge fan of tomatoes. This made me even more apprehensive. But “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. I am so glad I tried these! They were super yummy and so easy!

~Serves 4-6~

~Food Stuffs~
6Lg tomatoes *I am a HUGE advocate of Farmer’s Markets and def recommend that you buy your tomatoes from them*
1Med onion – finely chopped
1Cup shredded summer squash
1/2lbs Turkey burger or ground beef
1.5 C Cooked rice
2Tbs Breadcrumbs (optional)
2Tbs Parmesan cheese
1/2 C chopped cilantro
1/2 Squeezed lime (optional)
2 Eggs
1/4c Olive oil
2Tbs fresh minced garlic
1tsp sea salt
1tsp cumin, cracked pepper, Kosher salt, a small sprinkle of crushed pepper flakes and 1tsp minced garlic (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400
Brown onions and garlic. Add ground meat, 1tsp sea salt, 1tsp cumin, cracked black pepper and cook thoroughly. Once the meat is cooked, add the squash and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on med-high heat or until the squash is tender  and starts to brown. Remove from heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine meat mixture, lime, eggs and cooked rice. *Let the mixture cool a bit before adding the eggs. This will keep the eggs from “scrambling” because of the heat.* Mix in the cilantro and stir, stir, stir.

Hollow out 6 tomatoes. Using a small knife, cut a circle pattern around the top of the tomato by inserting the knife about 1in straight down and slowly cutting around the top. Remove the top and use a teaspoon to hollow out the pulp.
*Save the tops and insides for another recipe…I NEVER condone wasting food. The one thing that bothers me about most cooking shows on TV – So much waste!*

Now that we have everything mixed, we can fill the tomatoes. Grab that teaspoon you just used and carefully scoop the filling in to the tomato. Fill each one to the top but not above the opening hole.

Mix the breadcrumbs and parm cheese together in a little bowl. I like to add a little garlic powder to mine; but that is totally up to you. Next, mix olive oil, about a tsp of Kosher salt and the remaining minced garlic.  Line a 9×13 baking dish with tinfoil. Brush the tinfoil with a little of the olive oil mixture. Place the tomatoes in the dish and sprinkle the opening holes with the breadcrumb mixture. Use a pastry brush to baste the tomatoes. Drizzle what is left of the olive oil mixture over the tomatoes.

Bake at 400 for 25min or until the outer shell just starts to soften. Remove from the oven and let rest for 2/3 minutes before serving.

These were so good and so fresh! They are small and perfect for dinner parties or a quiet romantic meal. They also make really nice appetizers – just use smaller tomatoes and adjust the cooking time, accordingly.

Would be great with a Cabernet or Pinot Noir. If you prefer a white, I’d stay away from Riesling as it is too sweet and muddled the acidity of the tomatoes.

For Aunt Brenda!