bakin' and eggs

I was flipping through the July/August 2009 issue of Cooking with Paula Deen when I saw these Broiled Blue Cheese and Bacon Tomatoes.  After I wiped the drool off the page, I promptly went to the grocery to get the ingredients for this recipe.  I knew Brandon would be all about these too given his love for tomatoes, blue cheese and bacon.

This is a perfect side dish to use those delicious tomatoes that are in season right now. These tomatoes totally lived up to my lofty expectations. I really like that you don’t scoop out the tomato goodness but simply top the tomatoes with the blue cheese and bacon mixture. It was just the right ratio of topping to tomato, still letting the flavor of the fresh tomatoes be the star.

Broiled Blue Cheese and Bacon Tomatoes
(Recipe source Cooking with Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

1 sleeve round butter crackers, crushed (we used Ritz)
5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 large tomatoes, cut in half crosswise
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Combine cracker crumbs, blue cheese, bacon and green onion in a bowl. Add melted butter and stir to mix well. Place tomatoes cut side up on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Divide blue cheese and bacon mixture evenly among tomato halves.

Broil, 5 inches away from heat for about 5-8 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned.

Yield: 6 servings