Oh man…these were yummy in my tummy! They’re a tiny bit of a splurge depending on how much tomatoes are, but it’s summer and they’re going to be going on sale a lot! {or you could be growing your own! Which reminds me… I should do a garden update…..}
But lets see, these were super fast to make, which rocks because lets face it…. I maybe pretty domestic, but somedays I want something wicked yummy without baby sitting it for half my life.
Oh so before I post this recipe, I want to let you know that I bought a kettlebell, I need to get a picture of him and post it! His name is Brutus and he’s a beast! {I call him brutal brutus sometimes}. But I’ve done two workouts w/ him and doing a third tomorrow.. I LOVE kettlebells, seriuosly I’m seeing a difference already. So if you’ve been on the fence about kettlebells, get one, try it out. You’re going to love the results.
Stuffed Tomatoes!
Ingredients:
• 6 Ripe tomatoes { I like the hothouse ones or something similar }
• 4 Slices of bacon { And add one in there for yourself, oh and one for your dog…so 6 total! }
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 Egg
• 1 Medium Onion, fine dice
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Basil {Feel free to use dried}
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley {Feel free to use dried}
• 1 Tsp dried Rosemary
• 3 Garlic cloves, chopped up super fine
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt + Pepper
How to:
• Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees
• Get that bacon cookin in a pan, while that’s going Slice the top off of your tomato so it’s intact and you can use it to top your tomato later {see picture}.
• Scoop out the inside of the tomato { I used a knife along the edge of what I was scooping out to make it easier}. Save the inside of the tomatoes! You can use it to make a tomato sauce later on!
• Set your empty tomatoes aside. By now your bacon should be done, put it on a paper towel to let drain {and consume your slice while your at it!}
• In a bowl combine your herbs, ground beef, egg, garlic, onion. Then take your bacon and tear it into small pieces into the mixture {or you could chop it… I’m lazy so i tear it… and that way primal puggle and I can sneak a bite here and there}. Give it another good mix so it’s combine.
• Put your tomatoes in a baking pan with sides to it.
• Fill each tomato with your meat mixture {And I mean fill it people! Don’t be stingy the more the better} and top with it’s little tomato “hat”
• Drizzle a smidge of olive oil on top of each and salt + Pepper.
• Bake for about 25-35 Minutes.
• Let cool for a few minutes, serve with a side salad. I drizzled a little bit of Balsamic Vinegar over the tomatoes {so yummy}.
Enjoy!
I did have leftover meat mixture. I just stuck it in the freezer, and used it in a stirfry a few days later! {So you’ve essentially just made yourself one dinner..and got another dinner ready to go!}
Soo the scooping of the tomatoes was a little bit more difficult than I had anticipated.
Ahh it was for you too? I thought it was just me! That’s why I used the knife to to kinda loosen it up. Ugg sorry about that… I’m thinking you could use a tomato that was on its last legs and it’d still taste good but easier to scoop out… maybe? Hopefully? I’m going to have to experiment on it.
Did you brown your ground beef before mixing it all up and adding it to the tomatoes?
Erin I’m so sorry that this took so long to respond too! I didn’t precook the meat before adding it to the tomatoes, If you’d like too you brown it a little {So it’s half way cooked prior to stuffing}, that should be fine, you just want to make sure you give your tomatoes plenty of time to get soft and yummy 🙂