Monday, May 7, 2018

Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: Gifts from the Garden BWF

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends theme collaborations. Each month a group  of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about this partnership is that it’s not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may have a recipe, sewing tutorial, crafts projects, book review and/or a technology post all related to the theme of the month.


Blog With Friends, a monthly project based blogging collaboration | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


This month's theme is Gifts from the Garden.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here’s a peek at what we all came up with:


Blog With Friends, a multi-blogger project based post incorporating a theme, Gifts from the Garden | Featured on www.BakingInATornado.com


I'm sharing a recipe for my Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes.


Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: filled with garden vegetables, parmesan and croutons, bursting with fresh flavor for a healthy lunch or side dish. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #vegetables

Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes
Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: filled with garden vegetables, parmesan and croutons, bursting with fresh flavor for a healthy lunch or side dish. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #vegetables


I really felt that this choice was a no-brainer. My goal was to highlight as many fresh vegetables in my dish as I could. And I wanted to give a little nod to growing up, when Mom would take us to the local farm to buy corn and plump juicy vegetables. My sister and I would get a tomato and eat it like an apple. Not something we'd do with store bought tomatoes, but those farm ones were delish.

I have to admit that, for a number of reasons, I don't have a vegetable garden. I do get to enjoy the fruits of friends' and neighbors' labor. There are often tomatoes, squash, peppers and more on my doorstep once these beauties are ready for harvest. Although I knew from experience that most fresh vegetables had enhanced flavor, I never expected to notice a difference in potatoes until my neighbor dropped off some freshly harvested New Potatoes. Wow. It was like I'd never tasted a potato before. 

Although I didn't use potatoes for this dish, I did use a number of garden vegetables. 

First, gather your beautiful fresh vegetables. I chose onion, summer squash, orange pepper, spinach and mushrooms, but you can play with the ingredients depending on your family's personal tastes or what vegetables you have available.

Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: filled with garden vegetables, parmesan and croutons, bursting with fresh flavor for a healthy lunch or side dish. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #vegetables


I chopped the vegetables and cored the tomatoes:

Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: filled with garden vegetables, parmesan and croutons, bursting with fresh flavor for a healthy lunch or side dish. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #vegetables


The vegetables were pan sauteed:

Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: filled with garden vegetables, parmesan and croutons, bursting with fresh flavor for a healthy lunch or side dish. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #vegetables


The tomatoes were stuffed:

Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: filled with garden vegetables, parmesan and croutons, bursting with fresh flavor for a healthy lunch or side dish. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #vegetables


Then just bake and serve. A versatile dish, they can be served with bread and/or a salad for lunch, or work perfectly as a side dish for dinner.

Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes: filled with garden vegetables, parmesan and croutons, bursting with fresh flavor for a healthy lunch or side dish. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #vegetables


As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!


Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:

Dawn of Spatulas on Parade shares her recipe for Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed Angel Food Cake.
Blog With Friends, a multi-blogger project based post incorporating a theme, Gifts from the Garden | Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed Angel Food Cake by Dawn of Spatulas on Parade | Featured on www.BakingInATornado.com

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares a project, Children's Garden, DIY Upcycled Door.
Blog With Friends, a multi-blogger project based post incorporating a theme, Gifts from the Garden | Children's Garden, DIY Upcycled Door by Lydia of Cluttered Genius | Featured on www.BakingInATornado.com

Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Documented, a new floral product line.
Blog With Friends, a multi-blogger project based post incorporating a theme, Gifts from the Garden | Documented, a new floral product line by Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments | Featured on www.BakingInATornado.com


Minette of Southern Belle Charm shares Gifts From the Garden, what playing in the dirt does for her soul.
Blog With Friends, a multi-blogger project based post incorporating a theme, Gifts from the Garden | Beautifying the Yard by Minette of Southern Belle Charm | Featured on www.BakingInATornado.com



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Bountiful Stuffed Tomatoes
                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Ingredients:
4 Large tomatoes 
2 TBSP butter
1 small summer squash, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pepper (green, red, yellow or orange, your choice) finely chopped
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning 
1/2 cup (packed) fresh spinach
3 TBSP grated parmesan
1 cup seasoned croutons

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a baking pan.
*Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the squash, mushrooms, pepper, onion, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. 
*Add the spinach and sweat down for just a minute. Mix in the parmesan and croutons. Cook and stir for one more minute. Remove from heat.
*Rinse the tomatoes and cut off the tops. Set aside if you want to use for presentation. Using a spoon, take out the seeds and just some of the pulp. Do not leave the tomatoes too thin. Place in the prepared baking pan.
*Scoop the vegetable mixture into the tomatoes. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove carefully from the pan to serve. Add the reserved top of the tomato if desired.

 

16 comments:

  1. These tomatoes look delicious and I think would work well on the grill too.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure whether I think they'd fall apart or not sitting on a grate, but if you do try them on the grill, let me know. I bet the flavor would be amazing.

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  2. Stuffed without rice or pasta or bread crumbs, just vegetable goodnessI like it! We are just planting the gardens now. Come August I will be up to my eyeballs in produce. There is nothing like a fresh tomato from the garden! Oh yes there is, sweet corn!

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    Replies
    1. There is such amazing flavor in anything picked fresh from the garden. And I love when my neighbors are up to their eyeballs in produce, I get to reap the rewards!

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  3. I love this idea!! Simple, tasty and fresh - what more could you ask for?

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  4. Yum! Looks delish! There is nothing better than a fresh from the garden tomato!

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  5. Nothing better than fresh veggies from a garden and the tomatoes look amazing! Love that I can customize to what I like!

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  6. I commented earlier, but something seemed weird and I wasn't sure it took. So I'll comment again and if the first one showed up, you can choose the best of the two. (If there is a best!)
    Absolutely everything I love in one dish. How could this possibly go wrong?
    We just picked our first tomatoes in our little greenhouse today. The small ones are ripening first. Waiting on the larger ones. Then I'm trying this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is the only comment that showed up so I'll take this one, LOL!
      I'm so excited to hear what you think of this dish. Once you try it, let me know.

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  7. Sounds so good. I can't wait for the first of our garden fresh tomatoes, but it will be a while. Your post makes me remember the first time I ate a garden fresh veggie - it was when I was 17 and it was a cucumber. I couldn't believe how good it tasted - just like you and the potato. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  8. These are just beautiful! And they look so fancy! :)

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