Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

This was a spur of the moment kind of recipe. When I was getting chicken out of the freezer for dinner, I saw one lonely pork sausage in a baggie. I've been trying to clean out the freezer since we will be gone for awhile. So, as I'm trying to think of what to do with it, I glance around and see the tomatoes and thought "Stuffed tomatoes!" And here was a chance to use up some of the leftover ingredients from making the Chicken Caprese Rollups! Here's how I did it...

-Vine-ripened tomatoes (or whatever you have), cored and seeds removed
-pork sausage (removed from the casing and broken up OR you can obviously get the loose pork sausage in whatever heat level you like)
-fresh basil leaves, chopped
-a handful of fresh spinach, chopped
-1/2 small onion, finely chopped
-a handful of Italian cheese blend
-fresh mozzarella
-a splash of chicken stock (optional)

In a small saute pan, over medium heat, brown the sausage and onions. (I don't use any oil because the sausage will create its own.) Once they sausage is cooked and the onions are tender, add in the shredded or chopped spinach, stirring until the spinach is wilted. At this point, I deglazed the pan with chicken stock, (if you don't have any on hand, don't worry about it) scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and let the chicken stock cook out. Remove from heat and if desired, drain the mixture on a paper towel to absorb excess grease. In a mixing bowl, combine the sausage mixture, the Italian cheese blend and the basil. For the tomatoes, you want to core them and remove the seeds. Sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper and fill each tomato to the top with the sausage mixture. Top each tomato with a slice of mozzarella or if you got the small mozzarella balls like I did, I cut them in half and put 3 on top. Place under the broil set on high until the cheese is melted.

This can be a side dish or an appetizer! :) I love coming up with recipes that use leftover ingredients like this. Enjoy!