Roasted Tomatoes Stuffed with Balsamic Chickpeas and Mendocino!

It has been too long since my last blog post. Earlier work hours meant longer days. Trying to squeeze in my workouts became an art. And while I still spent plenty of time in the kitchen, doing much more than posting photos to Instagram was impossible. But within all the busy, I still had time to take a long awaited vacation with my boyfriend for his birthday!

We planned this trip back in January, and I am so glad that we chose Mendocino, Ca. The bed and breakfast we stayed at was adorable and very accommodating of my vegan diet. We spent hours just walking along the cliffs, gazing at the ocean, and hiking in the state parks. It was a fantastic weekend, filled with delicious wine, roaring fires, and more walking than our legs could handle. But of course the best part was the view from our balcony.

While gone, I had a dear friend take care of my patio garden and beautiful fish. Before we left, I made her dinner as a thank you. I was so excited, because I got to cook for a fellow non-meat eater. While my boyfriend enjoys most of my cooking, there's something wonderful about watching a fellow vegetarian or vegan devour your cooking and really love it. I wanted to try something a little fancy, and making these stuffed tomatoes just seemed perfect. I paired them with baked mashed potatoes and it was scrumdidilyumptious!

Roasted Tomatoes Stuffed with Balsamic Chickpeas

Print Recipe!

Ingredients                                        

1/2 a 15oz can of Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 Large Tomatoes 

1 Leaf of Kale, chopped

1/4 of a Red Onion, diced

1 Clove of Garlic, miced

2 TBSP of Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Soak chickpeas in a bowl of water for an hour to help soften them. Slice the top off the tomatoes off and set aside. Scoop the guts out of the tomatoes and discard. Wash tomatoes and turn them upside down on a towel to drain.

2. After an hour, drain the chickpeas. Mix the chickpeas with chopped kale, onion, garlic, and balsamic vinegar together.

3. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and stuff with the chickpea mixture. Really make sure to pack it in there and let it overflow a little.

4. Bake tomatoes at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Be careful to check on them, tomatoes will fall apart if baked for too long.

5. Serve with you favorite mashed potato recipe and Enjoy!