Tuesday night dinner

Tonight I am making savory winter squash soup, stuffed tomatoes, squished potatoes, salad and yogurt with honey  and poached pears for dessert. The recipe here is for 2 people. Adjust depending on how many servings. If you need 12 tomatoes, use 2 lbs of beef


Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 medium tomatoes
• salt and pepper to season
• 1/2 pounds ground beef (or a combination of ground beef, veal and pork)
• Olive oil
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• bread crumbs
• A generous Tbsp Dijon mustard
• A generous handful of chopped parsley or dried herbes de Provence unless your bread crumbs are seasoned already
• Grated parmesan (optional)
• 1 to 2 Tbsp milk, optional

Directions

1. Slice the tops off tomatoes and hollow out the insides. Pat the tomatoes dry inside with a tea towel, season with salt, and leave upside down on paper towel to drain for about half an hour. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan. Gently sauté the onions, shallots, garlic, until soft, 10 minutes. Add the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until fully done.
2. throw it bread crumbs, breaking it up through the mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the mustard, parsley or herbes de Provence, and Parmesan. Check the seasonings. Add a spoonful or two of milk, if needed to loosen. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Sliver a bit off the bottom of each tomato so they sit flat without wobbling. Stuff the tomatoes. Set in a baking pan. Scatter over a little more cheese. Bake until the tomatoes are soft and hot, 30 minutes.

Squished potatoes

Ingredients

• 1/2 pounds baby reds
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Scrub the potatoes and cook, unpeeled, in boiling salted water until tender. Drain. When cool enough to touch, squish them flat using a coffee cup or ramekin. Don't let them explode, just flatten until the edges break a bit, but they are still in one piece. Toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until crisp outside and soft inside, about 40 minutes.
3. Sometimes with potatoes, I take them out after 35 mins and put them in the broiler on low for 5 because I really like them roasted. 

Salad

Consists of only romaine lettuce with olive oil only

yogurt with honey and poached pears

Ingredients

     1/4 cup orange juice

     1/4 cup apple juice

     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

     1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

     1 whole pears 

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Directions

In a small bowl, combine the juices, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to mix evenly.

Peel the pears and leave the stems. cut the pear in half and use d melon baller to scoop out the center of the pear where the core is. Place in a shallow pan. Add the juice mixture to the pan and set over medium heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes, turning pears. Don't boil.

Transfer the pears to individual serving plates and fill the scooped hole with honey and plain yogurt