01 Apr 2011

Stuffed Tomatoes

2 Whole Fresh tomatoes
1/2 Whole Yellow Onion
1/2 lb Bacon or Turkey Bacon
1/2 Whole Bell pepper
1/3 lb Asparagus
1 Cup Kale
1 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary
1/4 Cup Fresh Basil
1/4 Cup Shredded Italian Cheese Mix
Ground black pepper
1 Tbsp Panko or any bread crumbs
Olive oil

1. Cook bacon till crispy and set aside.
2. Cut the tops off your tomatoes and remove the meat from the center, try to leave about 1/4 inch all around.
3. Dice the onions, peppers and asparagus, chop the basil and rosemary.
Cook in a pan with olive oil till lightly browned. You can add the tomato centers to this as well. Place in a bowl and using the same pan throw in the kale, just pull the green portion off the stems first. Add about 1/4 inch of water to help steam and cook the kale. This should take about a minute. Drain off extra water and add it to the rest of the vegetables.
4. Finely mince all the vegetables and crumble the bacon into it. Add the bread crumbs salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Or throw it all into a food processor and blend it till it's well mixed and no large pieces remain. This mixture should be slightly pasty and not overly moist. If it's too moist add more bread crumbs.
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. Now take your veggie mix and spoon it into the tomatoes. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top.
7. Place your tomatoes in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. The cheese should be lightly browned and the tomatoes are ready to serve! This is a great lighter fare dinner. But it's hearty enough to satisfy just about anyone.
You can change up the ingredients to suit your taste add some cayenne to spice it up, or do just about anything to add your own personal flavors to it. Without the bacon it would be a great vegetarian dish too.