Hearty Stuffed Tomatoes

Good morning everyone! Hope ya'll are having a warmer day than I am here in Montana. It has been pretty snowy and rainy here for the past week, so yesterday I decided to veer from my weekly menu and make the family a "comfort food" type meal. Hearty Stuffed Tomatoes! They are actually very simple, very easy, and super tasty. One thing I want to mention before you start if you have say a family of four just half the recipe. This recipe as it is right now feeds my family of seven.

Ingredients

8-10 medium-to-large tomatoes
½ pound ground beef
1 cup breadcrumbs (can be plain, panko, whatever you have on hand)
1 cup parmesan cheese (whichever type you have on hand)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 cups cottage cheese (or ricotta, whatever you have on hand)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dry oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a small pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.

Cut the tops of the tomatoes off and scoop out the insides. You can eat or discard the insides because you will not need them. They should look like little tomato bowls. Place the tomatoes upside down on paper towels. This way they can drain and dry a little, I find it helps them bake better if they aren't so wet.

Brown your hamburger and drain it.

In a medium bowl mix hamburger, breadcrumbs, all cheese, all spices, and olive oil. Basically ALL ingredients EXCEPT tomatoes.

Next, Invert the tomatoes and place on your prepared pan.

Now start filling the tomatoes. You want to kind of pack the mixture into the tomato bowls. Press down gently.

If you have any extra cheese, you can sprinkle it over the tops.

Place uncovered in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and just slightly soft on the outside of tomato. Because tomato sizes vary and cooking time may be plus or minus five minutes.


Told you they were pretty easy and delicious!