Stuffed breakfast tomatoes

I get nostalgic when I think of tomatoes being stuffed with any sort of other food. My mother often made stuffed tomatoes for me growing up. Her stuffings ranged from meat to cottage cheese to many different types of salads. Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again for the sole purpose of eating all of my mom's wonderful creations.

One thing my mother never did was use breakfast foods as a stuffing for tomatoes. At least not that I remember. So I thought I would give it a try myself!

I have to preface this recipe by saying that it is so incredibly light and healthy, yet insanely tasty. My husband bit into thinking it would not be the most flavorful thing he's ever tasted, but he was very pleasantly surprised.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Hollow out 2 large, ripe tomatoes. Do this by cutting a large circle into the top of the tomato and removing the core. With a spoon or a knife (I used both), carefully scoop out the ribs and seeds. Leave the walls of the tomato intact as best you can.

In a small bowl, combine:

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

With your finger, rub half of the mixture onto the inside of one tomato, covering the inner walls as thoroughly as possible. Rub the other half of the mixture onto the inside of the other tomato. Set the tomatoes aside.

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.

Add:

3 green onions, white and light green parts only, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Divide the green onion mixture in half and place into the bottoms of the 2 hollowed-out tomatoes.

Top that with a layer of finely chopped fresh spinach. I used approximately 1/4 cup between the two.

And top the spinach with a layer of shredded Parmesan cheese. Squish as much cheese in as you can, keeping in mind you need enough room for 1 egg. You'd be surprised how much you can fit into a tomato.

Carefully crack an egg into each tomato. If you want to make sure you don't break the yolk, crack it into a bowl first and then pour it in.

Place the tomatoes onto a greased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the egg is cooked through.

Sprinkle the finished product with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley and eat immediately!

Mom, I'm making these for you the next time I see you!

Click here for a printable recipe!

Healthy breakfast muffins

My friend Maren read this post of mine, and, as a fellow non-breakfast-breakfaster, she sent me this recipe of Martha's. I instantly fell in love with the healthiness of it, plus it has raisins, bananas, carrots and oatmeal. Yum! I am a sucker for all of the above.

I made my first batch on a Sunday and ate one for breakfast each morning that week (I froze and then thawed half). This is huge for me! The last time I ate breakfast seven days in a row was probably in 1995 and it most likely consisted of greasy scrambled eggs and hash browns from our college servery.

These muffins will be a new a staple for me. There is zero guilt, and they keep my hunger at bay until lunch time. And they are easy to make. So, so easy.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and coat a muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (I bet they would also taste great with cinnamon in place of nutmeg!)

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Stir until there are no lumps.

Stir in:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup raisins

Add:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large egg

1/3 cup skim milk

4 medium carrots, shredded

1 medium ripe banana, mashed

Stir until blended.

Fill 12 muffin cups with 1/4 cup each of batter. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 23 to 25 minutes.

Happy guilt-free breakfasting!

Click here for a printable recipe!