Surfing Ruined My Life

(how to take a vegetable and turn it as unhealthy as possible)

Total Cost: $9.50
Feeds about 4-6 people

I going to honest this meal was inspired by a similar dish we had prepared for the vegetarian section at the college.  I never even considered to stuff a tomato before and found the idea rather intriguing.  I figured I could do something similar but stuff it with meat and cheese and make it the first tomato capable of giving a massive coronary.  Yummy!

Ingredient List

• 4 Medium size tomatoes
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 4 oz of parmesan cheese (grated)
• 8 oz of mozzarella Cheese (shredded)
• 16 oz of tomato sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of bread crumbs (Italian seasoned)
• 2 table spoons of oregano (dry)
• 1 teaspoon of basil (dry)
• 2 table spoons of salt
• 1 table spoon of pepper
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Step 2: Prep the tomatoes for stuffing.  Cut tomato in half horizontally (not through the core (see picture).  Then hallow out the inside of the tomato leaving about a quarter inch shell.  Do not throw away the inside of the tomato, instead dice it up, we will use it for the sauce.

This is how your tomato half should look.

Step 3: In a large mix bowl take the ground beef, breadcrumbs, Lisanti egg mixture (beat one egg, a teaspoon of salt, pinch of pepper, teaspoon of basil together in a small bowl), 2 oz of Parmesan cheese and 3 oz of mozzarella cheese.  With your hands mix together till you have a regular consistency of all ingredients.  Move from bowl into a large baking pan, spread the meat out flat no thicker then a half inch or so.  Put in oven for around 6-10 minutes. You want to just brown the top but not let it get too crunchy.

Step 4: Making the sauce.  In a medium size sauce pot mix the tomato sauce, 1 table soon of salt, 1 table spoon of Oregano, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the diced tomato chunks.  Heat on low flame.

Step 5: Stuffing the tomatoes.  Now that you have finished baking your meat mixture pull out of the oven and let cool a few minutes.  Stuff the bottom ¼ of your tomatoes with mozzarella cheese.  Pour in about two tablespoons of sauce, Then stuff the rest with the cooked meat mixture.  Top it off with a healthy layering of parmesan cheese.  Bake in oven at 350 for 8-10 minutes till cheese melts and tomatoes are soft.

Step 6: Take left over meat mixture, crumble it up and mix it into your sauce and heat on a medium flame.

Step 7: Serve over a plate worth of pasta and either one or two tomato halves.  Make sure to drizzle some sauce over the finished tomato.  Boun Appetite!

A tasty finished product