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And now it's time for Bachelor Cooking With Pat!
I like to experiment a lot with my cooking (as you may have seen from some of my past entries). Every once in a while, this turns out well.
Like tonight.
There's a Greek restaurant in St. Louis that serves, among many other things, stuffed tomatoes. Which I always enjoyed, so I thought I'd try it.
It took a few tries to get it right, but I think I finally did. And, like all my recipes (that whole bachelor thing, remember) it's very simple. Mine come out quite different from the restaurant's, but surprisingly good.
What you need:
- Ground Beef (I like to use about a pound. It only takes about a quarter pound for two large tomatoes, but this way there's left meat mixture, which can be scrambled with eggs, made into a sandwich, or mixed with pasta sauce and poured over pasta (or all three for your next three meals :)
- Big, firm, tomatoes (as in, not the smaller type, and not too soft).
- Queso Fresco
- Seasoning (I like the "Greek" mixture from Safeway, though I think that Lowry's Taco Seasoning might work well, too)
- Fresh spinach
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (If you turn it on now, it will be ready when you are).
2. Brown the beef, seasoning liberally. Or to taste. Whatever. Put the seasoning in it. Also, tear up the spinach leaves and toss them in after it gets a good start.
3. While you're doing that, cut the tops off the tomatoes, about 1/2 inch down. Throw away the tops. Or eat them while you're cooking. Or use them for something else.
4. Scoop out the tomato insides, so you're just left with the shell. Which is why you need to start with firm tomatoes, otherwise they'll goosh apart at this point.
5. When the meat is just about brown, toss in the tomato guts and about a couple of tablespoons of the queso fresco.
6. Let it stew for a couple of minutes while you start the rice. (Yeah, I know I didn't mention the rice earlier, but you'll want some to go with the tomatoes).
7. Remove the meat mixture from the stove, and remember to turn it off, but not the oven, or the stove with the rice on it.
8. Scoop out meat. Stuff into tomato and pack it down tightly. Top with cheese (thin slice of swiss, or cheddar or, if you have a bit leftover from a couple of nights ago, the last of the brie (That was my favorite, but I didn't have any leftover this time.)
9. Put the tomatoes in a oven-proof dish or baking tray (casserole dish, cookie tray, pizza block, whatever) and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. When they're done, they'll be pretty soft, but not so soft they fall apart when you take them out.
10. The rice should be done by now. Put a layer of it on the plate, and a tomato or two on top of it.
Green vegetables make a good side with it, for instance, the leftover greenbean and sauteed mushroom mix from a couple of days ago.
I like to experiment a lot with my cooking (as you may have seen from some of my past entries). Every once in a while, this turns out well.
Like tonight.
There's a Greek restaurant in St. Louis that serves, among many other things, stuffed tomatoes. Which I always enjoyed, so I thought I'd try it.
It took a few tries to get it right, but I think I finally did. And, like all my recipes (that whole bachelor thing, remember) it's very simple. Mine come out quite different from the restaurant's, but surprisingly good.
What you need:
- Ground Beef (I like to use about a pound. It only takes about a quarter pound for two large tomatoes, but this way there's left meat mixture, which can be scrambled with eggs, made into a sandwich, or mixed with pasta sauce and poured over pasta (or all three for your next three meals :)
- Big, firm, tomatoes (as in, not the smaller type, and not too soft).
- Queso Fresco
- Seasoning (I like the "Greek" mixture from Safeway, though I think that Lowry's Taco Seasoning might work well, too)
- Fresh spinach
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (If you turn it on now, it will be ready when you are).
2. Brown the beef, seasoning liberally. Or to taste. Whatever. Put the seasoning in it. Also, tear up the spinach leaves and toss them in after it gets a good start.
3. While you're doing that, cut the tops off the tomatoes, about 1/2 inch down. Throw away the tops. Or eat them while you're cooking. Or use them for something else.
4. Scoop out the tomato insides, so you're just left with the shell. Which is why you need to start with firm tomatoes, otherwise they'll goosh apart at this point.
5. When the meat is just about brown, toss in the tomato guts and about a couple of tablespoons of the queso fresco.
6. Let it stew for a couple of minutes while you start the rice. (Yeah, I know I didn't mention the rice earlier, but you'll want some to go with the tomatoes).
7. Remove the meat mixture from the stove, and remember to turn it off, but not the oven, or the stove with the rice on it.
8. Scoop out meat. Stuff into tomato and pack it down tightly. Top with cheese (thin slice of swiss, or cheddar or, if you have a bit leftover from a couple of nights ago, the last of the brie (That was my favorite, but I didn't have any leftover this time.)
9. Put the tomatoes in a oven-proof dish or baking tray (casserole dish, cookie tray, pizza block, whatever) and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. When they're done, they'll be pretty soft, but not so soft they fall apart when you take them out.
10. The rice should be done by now. Put a layer of it on the plate, and a tomato or two on top of it.
Green vegetables make a good side with it, for instance, the leftover greenbean and sauteed mushroom mix from a couple of days ago.
