teacher by day - chef by night
No matter how fancy the cooking gets, sometimes there is nothing better than an awesome Grilled Cheese. I love Grilled Cheese (and any type of warm grilled sandwich/panini if we are really being honest here). Unfortunately, all of those carbs and cheese calories are not …
These stuffed tomatoes are everything you could want in a late summer meal…. fresh, filling, healthy. They are easily adaptable too! Think of Stuffed Tomatoes as you would Stuffed Peppers… they work basically the same way! I wanted to go full-out Italian so I stuffed these with the same type things I would use if I were making a nice bowl of summer pasta!
Prepare rice according to package directions. Cool rice a little bit, then mix in all of the rest of your ingredients (except tomatoes). Cut the tops off of your tomatoes & scoop out the insides (put them aside – they are perfect for making soup/salsa/juice/sauce). Stuff your mixture into the tomatoes, top with some mozzarella or fresh grated parmesan & place them in a lbaking/casserole dish. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes
And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… what foods do you like stuffed (chicken, mushrooms, pepper, etc) and what do you like to stuff them with!?
To create this meal I litterally just threw tomatoes in the blender & thought about flavors. Then pureeded batches of tomato & friends went into the pot to be heated/reduced/tasted/enjoyed. Perfect with a quick quesadilla on the side to finish off the “Mexican Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Dinner” theme.
IT’S TOMATO SEASON And just in case you don’t believe me – take a look at my counter!! I love tomatoes and at this point I am still enjoying them and all of their bounty (from our garden & the CSA) – so I am …
Just the other day I was wishing that I had some Tomatillos because I was craving a green salsa! That day just happened to be a Friday and I was getting ready to go over to our CSA. Lo & Behold we got a pound of tomatillos in our pick-up that day. I let out a little cheer and got to researching some recipes so I could make the most of my salsa without screwing it up! This is a mixture of dozens of websites worth of research on Tomatillo Salsa, including Jersey Girl & Tyler Florence.
Now, you may be asking yourself, “Self – what is a tomatillo”. I’m here to help! Tomatillos are a fruit (related to tomatoes) which grows in a paper-like husk that must be removed (and the fruit washed to remove the film from the husk) before using. They are most often picked and used green (although the husk often has a yellowish-brown color to it and like tomatoes, there are many different varieties with different colored fruits). When used fresh they have a slight lemony/acidic flavor to them so roasting them brings out the flavors and softens the skins, but also breaks them down (making them more soupy – not a problem for a salsa). Growing up working at Quiet Valley, we grew these things – but called them “Ground Cherries”. I do not remember what we used them for but I just recently found out they were the same thing! 
That was your lesson for the day, hope that you feel more educated & learned something new for the day (can we tell its back to school time & I will be once again just a “teacher by day” and only a “chef by night”).
This is awesome on chips, used to kick up your quesadilla, on top of grilled meats, eaten with a spoon, mixed into something to spice it up – just enjoy (we enjoyed it as an appetizer before my dad’s birthday dinner & cake celebration).
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Pre heat oven to 400 On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.
One year ago: Grilled Fresh Veggie Panini 
Oh yeah & have you checked out my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY post from earlier his week about an AWESOME Chocolate Ice Cream Layer Cake I made to celebrate Dad’s Birthday and my Blog-iversary??
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And I leave you with this… What fruit/vegetable/etc have you seen at the market and have had no idea what to do with. (AND – did you buy it and experiment or just keep walking?)