South Beach Stuffed Tomatoes & Garden Squash

I tweaked this recipe from the South Beach Diet recipe only a teensy bit, but it’s a sure-fire crowd pleaser.  My husband (hates tomatoes) ate TWO last night!  These can be prepped the night before which is great!  You can just pop them into a hot oven 30 minutes before your guests are about to arrive.  No sweat!

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

I started with 6 Roma tomatoes and 1 large squash I picked from my garden (I’m clearly way to excited about that!).  I chose Roma tomatoes because they are really red and sweet.  I use this type of tomato to make sauce on Sundays.

Next, I sliced then in half lengthwise so they can stand up on their own.
Scoop out the seeds & center to leave a mini bowl for each piece.  A tablespoon or butter knife should work fine.

I quartered the squash and scooped out the seeds also.  This recipe would be wonderful with eggplant or zucchini too.  I initially wanted to make boats with the squash, but I wasn’t sure if it would cook evenly, so this is what I ended up with…

Now it’s time for the stuffing!  These aren’t exact measurements, I just approximated for most ingredients.

I crushed up about a cup of frisailles (Italian pepper biscuits) but crushed croutons or breadcrumbs would be delicious.  Use what you have on hand.

Add about  3/4 cup of grated cheese, and I used a handful of fresh basil roughly chopped and a couple of heaping  tablespoons of pizza seasonings, 3 cloves of garlic minced, salt & pepper, and about 4 tablespoons of olive oil.  Mix it up!

Now, stuff the tomato halves and squash.  I added a drizzle of olive oil on top for a bit of richness.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.