Beef Stuffed Tomatoes

Have you noticed that when you can't have a food, you crave it all the more?  During Lent when my husband and I gave up meat, I just CRAVED these beef stuffed tomatoes, which I found here.  And (gasp!) this is one of the very few recipes that doesn't require any alterations!  Here's what we did:

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown rice
• a couple tablespoons oil
• 1 lb. ground beef (I used 96% lean)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (I don't like black pepper, but if you do, use it instead!)
• 6 large tomatoes
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs (these are a bit more crunchy than the traditional bread crumb)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Cook the rice according to package directions.  In a large skillet heat the oil on medium heat.  Stir in the beef and cook until barely pink.  Add the onion, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and half of the mint until the onion is soft and transparent.  While the beef is cooking, cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the pulp with a grapefruit spoon (or melon baller) and put in a large bowl.  Remove 1 cup of the pulp and cut up any big chunks.  Discard the remaining pulp or save it for another recipe (tomato soup maybe?).  Add the beef mixture, feta, rice, and the rest of the mint to the tomato pulp.  On a large cookie sheet place the tomato halves, cut side up.  Fill the tomatoes with about 1/2 cup of the beef mixture and sprinkle with the panko.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs are browned.

Who would have thought that beef, cinnamon, and mint would go well together, but let me tell you, this combination is heavenly!  In the future I might try using a goat cheese instead of feta to add a little extra punch, but frankly, it's pretty darn good with feta!  Also, one thing to be aware of is the cooking time.  The original recipe had you bake it for 25-30 minutes, but when I cooked it that long the first time I made this recipe, the tomatoes started to disintegrate, spilling the beef mixture all over the place, so I reduced the cooking time for this attempt.