Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

This is a fun side dish, especially convenient if you have a garden filled with tomatoes, which I don't... but I wish I did!  It goes great with grilled chicken or steak.

I came up with this recipe after reading several ideas on allrecipes, I wanted to use up some tomatoes I had leftover after buying a whole case.  It would be very simple to make this a vegetarian dish by excluding the bacon and then maybe just up the salt.


Baked, Stuffed Tomatoes

6 strips center-cut or turkey bacon, chopped
3/4 c. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 box spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 Tb. cream cheese, soft
1/2 c. sour cream, or more if it seems dry after mixing
salt & pepper
a few dashes hot sauce
1/2 c. shredded cheddar or mozzarella, your choice
4 large tomatoes, seeds scooped out

Preheat the oven to 400.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and toss in the chopped bacon. Once the bacon is cooked, remove to a paper towel and cook onions in the leftover drippings.  Add in garlic, spinach, cream cheese and sour cream.  Season well with salt & pepper. Pour in a few dashes of hot sauce, however much you like.  Stir in the cooked bacon at the last minute & stuff the mixture into the tomatoes.  Bake 15 minutes, then top each tomato with 2 Tb shredded cheese and bake 5 more minutes.