Perfect Sunday Dinner

I'm so clever, I am. Came up with a perfect sunday dinner all by myself, and then as I've started to enter it here, banged my knee into something under the computer desk and owwwww.

I did a post on slow cookers for FitFare last week, and I made the slow cooker chicken that I wrote about for the post. Its easy, and I'm not entering the whole damn thing again here. Check it out over on FitFare, the post went live on 03/24.

Then I've got some brown rice going to accompany it, but the thing I'm most excited about are the stuffed tomato halves that are waiting to go into the oven. The credit for this goes in equal parts to Aunty Marianne and Giada De Laurentiis, strangely enough. Aunty Marianne did a stuffed mushroom caps recpie the other day (03/18 to be exact), that I found wonderfully inspiring. The problem is that I'm really allergic to mushrooms. They make my throat close over, which does make it difficult to breathe. Then this morning, when I should have been getting dressed, I was instead watching Giada make a big Sunday dinner for her family. I didn't make the tomato halves just like her, though, because she left out several vital things IMO. She said during the episode that her mom doesn't like garlic (horrors, can't imagine cooking without it, myself. Ever.) so she wasn't putting any in. Also, I love the combination of tomato and basil, as does apparently Aunty Marianne, because her blog is called Tomato and Basil sandwiches. Anyway, here goes.

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut in half, seeded, and centers removed with a grapefruit spoon
1/2 cup provolone cheese, shredded
1/2 cup breadcrumbs, unseasoned
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp finely minced fresh basil leaves
1 tsp oregano

Chop the removed sections of tomato into a fine dice. Mix all ingredients well and stuff back into hollowed out tomatoes. Bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Top with more shredded cheese.

I'm excited about the taste. I tasted the filling raw, of course, and it is yummy. So I'm thinking that hot and with the cheese all melty it will be even better.

I have a fairly yuucky week coming up, so I'm pulling out the wine for dinner as well. Cheers!