Scalloped Tomatoes

My friend Colleen passed along this yummy veggie recipe to me.  It's an Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) recipe and it is delicious and super easy.

Since our little container garden is thriving right now, I was able to use all of our homegrown tomatoes that were currently ripe plus one huge Jersey tomato I purchased for the recipe.  We also have tons of basil too which was needed.

I altered the olive oil and bread type to make it a bit healthier.  Here it is:

3 Tbsp.  olive oil
2 cups healthy bread ( I used sprouted sesame Ezekiel sandwich bread), cubed
2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese (I omitted this altogether)

Preheat oven to 350.  Heat olive oil in Dutch Oven and add bread crumbs, stir well and cook until toasted on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  When bread is toasty, add the tomato mixture in and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in basil  (top with cheese if desired) and cook in oven 35-40 minutes until bubbly.