If there was one food I could never go without, it is the tomato.  As a matter of fact, most of my recipes either have tomatoes in them or I will serve one sliced on the side.  To me, the tomato not only looks beautiful on the plate but has just the right amount of flavor and acidity to bring out the best in all other foods!

Last night we had a milestone birthday celebration in honor of my mother-in-law, Janice who just turned 75, my husband, Jeff who just turned 50, and my son, Jarrod who just turned 25, so it was time to break out one of my favorite tomato recipes and one that I have been making for years…..Southern Living Magazine’s Feta Stuffed Tomato.

This time instead of using large tomatoes and cutting them in half (according to the recipe), I used much smaller tomatoes and just caught off the top portion to make smaller but whole stuffed tomatoes.  My rationale in choice was simple…it is still early in the tomato season and the tastiest tomatoes available currently are the smaller ones.  That is my favorite part of cooking…Adapting based on what is available 🙂 The recipe that follows is the original recipe but bear in mind that you can alter your tomato size and amount of tomatoes (I had a crowd for dinner) and it is quite easy to adjust the recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 large tomatoes
• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Cut 4 large tomatoes in half horizontally (Again, I used whole smaller tomatoes, so I skipped this step). Scoop out pulp from each tomato half, leaving shells intact; discard seeds and coarsely chop pulp.

Stir together pulp; 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese; 1/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs; 2 tablespoons chopped green onions; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl.

Spoon mixture evenly into tomato shells, and place in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes. (Note:  I prefer a cooking time of 20 minutes to really heat them all the way through).  Garnish with Italian parsley sprigs, if desired.

Bottom Line:  Delicious!  Everyone raved about them and they truly come out perfect every time you prepare them!  This is an easy but elegant dish to serve to at your next dinner party!  Let me know how this works in your kitchen!  I am Personal Chef, Frankie Pitt and want you to “Keep on Cooking”!

For the original recipe, see the following link:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/feta-stuffed-tomatoes-10000001069634/