Cheesy Tomato Bake

Do you like fresh tomatoes?  We just “invented” this recipe the other night to use up some of the tomatoes from our garden.  It made a great side dish, but would also be good on a sandwich or as a dip with crackers or toast corners. 

Cheesy Tomato Bake

Ingredients

3 tbl. olive oil

¼ lb. sweet Italian sausage, skins removed (about 2 sausages)

¼ lb. ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onions

½ cup chopped banana and/or Cubanelle peppers

1/3 cup whole kernel corn

1 large clove of garlic, smashed & minced

Salt & pepper to taste

4 oz. cream cheese (broken into small pieces)

2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

4 tbl. Parmesan cheese, & pepper to taste

1 ¼ cups fresh bread crumbs

8 or 9 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and sliced about 1/4 inch thick

4 tbl. sherry

4 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

·         Place 1 tbl. of the olive oil in a medium skillet and add the sausage and ground beef, breaking up the meat with a fork and cook for about 7-8 minutes, until just cooked but not browned

·         Add onions, peppers, corn, garlic and salt & pepper, and 2 tbl. of the sherry

·         Cook 5-6 minutes more, stirring often, until most of the liquid is gone

·         Remove from heat and stir in the cream cheese and goat cheese until smooth

·         In a separate bowl, mix together 2 tbl. of the Parmesan and the bread crumbs

·         Spread 2 tsp. of olive oil in the bottom of a 1 ½ quart baking dish

·         Spread 1/3 of the tomatoes over the bottom of the baking dish, then spread 1/3 of the meat/cheese mixture over the tomatoes. 

·         Sprinkle with the bread crumb/Parmesan mixture, then lightly sprinkle with a little olive oil

·         Repeat in layers – after the second layer sprinkle ½ of the Mozzarella cheese on it

·         After the third layer of tomatoes & bread crumb mixture add the rest of the Mozzarella and sprinkle with 2 tbl. of sherry and a little more olive oil

·         Bake at 375° for about 1 hour, until hot and bubbly