Stuffed Tomatos

I suppose we could tag this recipe with “Italian” but its a stretch.  The possibilities are endless and the creative cook could certainly create a stuffed tomato with flavors from any culture.

Ingredients:

• Rice – 1 1/2 cups
• Ground beef or turkey – 1 lb
• Onion – 1 pkg
• Brown mushrooms – 1 pkg
• Green garlic – 3 cloves
• Tomato paste – 1 can
• Seasoning and/or fresh herbs
• Large Tomatoes – 5
• Provolone cheese – 1/2 lb sliced
• Green olives – 1/2 jar

Instructions:

In your rice cooker or favorite rice cooking apparatus, cook the rice and let it cool. Brown the ground meat lightly then add the chopped onion, green garlic and mushrooms.  Add herbs and or seasoning. Stir that mixture around and let it sizzle a bit. Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half.  Scoop out the seeds and ribs and put in the blender or a bowl if you prefer to use a stick blender.  Put the tomato shells in a 12×9 glass dish.  Blend the tomato guts and add to the simmering meat mixture along with the tomato paste. Lightly simmer until all the water has been cooked away. In a large mixing bowl, gently mix the rice, meat mixture and green olives. Spoon the mix into the tomato shells that are waiting in the glass dish. They should be piled high and the remaining mix can be packed around the tomatoes so as to support them a bit. Put the 9×12 in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 350F. Add the provolone slices and return to the oven for about 10 minutes.