Stuffed Baked Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 3 oz. shredded part-skim mozzerella cheese (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves (or 2 tbsp dried basil)
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesean cheese
• 1 garlic clove minced
• salt and freshly ground pepper (optional)

Makes 4 servings

1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Scoop out the inside of each tomato half with a melon baller and chop the scooped pulp. Combine the tomato pulp, mozzarella, basil, Parmesean, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Spoon in the tomato mixture and bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Note: This recipe appears courtesey of the South Beach Diet 30 Minutes or Less Cookbook. I cooked this side dish 2 nights ago for a small vegetarian meal and it was nice. I used 1 tbsp of dried basil and 1 tbsp of dried oregano and it worked just as well. Basil and oregano work very well together and they both  have nice scents when cooking.