My first recipe of the year is a good one. On our LONG drive home, we made a quick stop at my Grandparents house. While we were there, they gave us a large bag of tomatoes. My Nanny was recommending different ways to use them. She was talking about slicing them in half and sprinkling them with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. I had 8 hours to think about what I wanted to make, and decided I would take her idea but add my own spin to it.
Stuffed Tomatoes
Makes 4 Servings
- 4 Large Ripe Tomatoes
- 1/4 Cup Onion-Chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic- Chopped
- 1/4 Cup Bell Peppers- Chopped
- 1 Handful Parsley- Chopped
- 1/4 Cup Sausage- Small Dice
- 3/4 Cup Cooked Orzo
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs (I used Panko)
- 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice top off tomatoes. Scoop out pulp and seeds from each tomato. Reserve the pulp and seeds. Season the inside of each tomato with salt and pepper.
Heat EVOO over medium low heat. Add onion, garlic, peppers, and sausage to pan. Cook 3-5 minutes until sausage is browned and veggies are tender. Remove from heat and add orzo. Add some of the reserved pulp and juice to the orzo and combined. Add orzo mixture into each tomato.
Combined bread crumbs and cheese. Add a small amount of EVOO to combined. Sprinkle cheese mixture over each tomato.
Place tomatoes in a baking dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until top is brown. Tomatoes will be firm. If you would like softer tomatoes, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Removed tomatoes from oven and serve.
ENJOY!!
I plan to use the leftover pulp and juice for a tomato sauce later this week.
Right now, I have black eyed peas cooking in the crockpot and ribs and collard greens just waiting to be cooked. It is a yearly tradition.
How are you spending the first day of 2013?
We are watching the Georgia Game and being lazy.
Those look so good! I’ve made quinoa stuffed tomatoes, but these look even better with the sausage and orzo. Thank so much for the sweet comment you left on my end of the year post. I’m very glad we met, too, and look forward to having some time to get together and talk blog! Happy New Year to you & Huck and the pups! :)
I wanted to use quinoa but we were out. I have a bunch left, so I may try that next :) Happy New Year to you, Steve, and Farley!
Happy New Year. The tomatoes looked great. Have a relaxing day and I’ll talk to ya later. Love You, Mom
I hope you guys had fun last night!