Stuffed Tomatos

Partially because of the stuffed pepper, I made stuffed tomatoes yesterday. I used the recipe from: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-stuffed-tomatoes-recipe.html

When I went to the store to find on-the-vine tomatoes, they all looked exceedingly soft and overripe. I figured that cooking would intensify this. So I went with slightly larger tomatoes (I don't remember the exact type, but they were larger than the on-the-vine and smaller than the hot house). I thus used 

3 tomatoes

2 t dried basil

1 chopped clove of garlic

riccota and cream cheese

Because the tomatoes I used were larger, I used the total amount of cheese recommended for 5 tomatoes. I used roughly half riccota and half cream cheese. 

I chopped up the garlic and measured basil into the bowl. I then got ready to cut up the tomatoes. I used a paring knife to cut off the tops. This was a lot easier on the tomatoes than it had been with the bell peppers. On the first, I tried to cut out the innards. This quickly ran into problems trying to avoid cutting up the outside. I got a spoon out and removed the rest. For the second, I cut up the inside a bit before moving to the spoon. On the third, I tried just using the spoon on the inside, but it was too tough. I ended up using the knife to at least get cuts started around the top. I didn't make as big of a mess as I expected, but it probably helped to be working over a bowl while hold the tomato angled downward. I gathered the innards in said bowl as I worked. When I was done, I put them in the fridge to be one of my vegetables for tomorrow. 

I then measured out the cream cheese and riccota into the bowl with basil and garlic. I used the back side of a spoon to mush this all together. The basil was helpful in showing how well things were getting mixed together. Then I divided the cheese mixture roughly into thirds and used it to stuff the three tomatoes. There was still some space in the tomatoes when I was done, but, based on the size of the tomatoes, I figured that it was probably for the best. I added 1/4 cup of water into my slow cooker, then added the tomatoes. I set on low for 2 and 1/2 hours. They were fairly hot when I took them out, but they were delicious. It probably helps that I love cheese, tomatoes, and garlic (I don't have strong feelings about basil). The cheeses I used seemed fairly bland, but with the taste of tomato, basil, and garlic, it worked fairly well. I ended up eating 1 and 1/2 of them and saving the rest. Here's hoping that they reheat well as lunch today.