Sausage stuffed tomatoes
Posted by Amateur Teacher on Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Under: cooking
Remember about a month ago how everything I was making had zucchini in it? Well, since we planted our tomatoes late, we now have an abundance of those delicious, red beauties. Next to a zucchini, a fresh, garden tomato can't be beat!
I had a recipe for sausage stuffed tomatoes that I'd been hanging onto for a week or two. I really wanted to try it, but for some reason or another I just never got around to it... until today. I went out to the garden, found about ten medium-ish tomatoes, and skipped back to the house ready to try out the recipe.
WHOA MAMA.
I could have eaten the stuffing by itself... well, maybe I did... a little... Ok, maybe, a lot.
The recipe comes from my Super Suppers cookbook. I bought this cookbook just before I married Mister and it has been a favorite. You can tell by the stains and crumply pages. A woman is only as good as her best stained apron and dirty cookbook ;)
Sausage Stuffed Tomatoes aka a new staple
6 medium ripe tomatoes (I used more since they weren't quite medium)
1 pound bulk sweet or hot italian sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup cooked white rice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil (my poor basil plant shriveled up this year and, much to my dismay, I was all out of dried basil, too! I ended up using thyme... totally different from basil, but how can you go wrong with sausage and thyme?)
3 tablespoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375. Cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato and save for your rabbits to snack on scoop out and reserve pulp, set aside, chop pulp, set aside. In a large skillet cook sausage, onion, and garlic over medium heat until sausage is brown, drain off fat. Stir in reserved tomato pulp and vinegar and simmer five minutes. Stir in cooked rice, basil, parsley, and egg. Stir in half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan. Place tomatoes in a 2-quart baking dish (so they are nice and tight and won't fall over) Sprinkle the insides of your tomatoes with salt and pepper. Spoon the sausage mixture into tomatoes, mounding on top ( I liked that part), and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until you remember you had something in the oven and accidentally got it a bit too brown until heated through. *This filling is freezer friendly so you could easily double the batch and save some for later!
Yeah, I kind of forgot about it... but this is "golden" right?
Side view.
Saved the tops and chopped them up for the Potter bunnies. They LOVE tomatoes!
Hank, being a good boy while I fed the bunnies...
Hank, resting his chin on the door of the hutch wishing he could "play" with the bunnies...
Hank, deciding my boot was more interesting than daydreaming after bunnies...
Let me know if you try the recipe! I already have it packed for Mister's and my own lunch tomorrow! It. was. fabulous.
I had a recipe for sausage stuffed tomatoes that I'd been hanging onto for a week or two. I really wanted to try it, but for some reason or another I just never got around to it... until today. I went out to the garden, found about ten medium-ish tomatoes, and skipped back to the house ready to try out the recipe.
WHOA MAMA.
I could have eaten the stuffing by itself... well, maybe I did... a little... Ok, maybe, a lot.
The recipe comes from my Super Suppers cookbook. I bought this cookbook just before I married Mister and it has been a favorite. You can tell by the stains and crumply pages. A woman is only as good as her best stained apron and dirty cookbook ;)
Sausage Stuffed Tomatoes aka a new staple
6 medium ripe tomatoes (I used more since they weren't quite medium)
1 pound bulk sweet or hot italian sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup cooked white rice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil (my poor basil plant shriveled up this year and, much to my dismay, I was all out of dried basil, too! I ended up using thyme... totally different from basil, but how can you go wrong with sausage and thyme?)
3 tablespoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375. Cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato and save for your rabbits to snack on scoop out and reserve pulp, set aside, chop pulp, set aside. In a large skillet cook sausage, onion, and garlic over medium heat until sausage is brown, drain off fat. Stir in reserved tomato pulp and vinegar and simmer five minutes. Stir in cooked rice, basil, parsley, and egg. Stir in half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan. Place tomatoes in a 2-quart baking dish (so they are nice and tight and won't fall over) Sprinkle the insides of your tomatoes with salt and pepper. Spoon the sausage mixture into tomatoes, mounding on top ( I liked that part), and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until you remember you had something in the oven and accidentally got it a bit too brown until heated through. *This filling is freezer friendly so you could easily double the batch and save some for later!
Yeah, I kind of forgot about it... but this is "golden" right?
Side view.
Saved the tops and chopped them up for the Potter bunnies. They LOVE tomatoes!
Hank, being a good boy while I fed the bunnies...
Hank, resting his chin on the door of the hutch wishing he could "play" with the bunnies...
Hank, deciding my boot was more interesting than daydreaming after bunnies...
Let me know if you try the recipe! I already have it packed for Mister's and my own lunch tomorrow! It. was. fabulous.
In : cooking