What do I do with lots of tomatoes??

[BMW]

We have them ripening... LOTS of them... a couple different types... I am enjoying just popping the cherry tomatoes in my mouth! Yum!

 

But, what do I do with all the regular and larger ones??

 

Anyone have a stuffed tomato recipe??

 

Thanks for some ideas!

 

Bee

[LizzyBee]

Homemade spaghetti sauce! You can freeze it for later.

[Michelle My Bell]

We boil our excess down and strain it into tomato sauce which we then freeze. It can be used in a number of dishes from pizza sauce, chili, lasagna, spagetti sauce etc... all winter long.

 

Michelle

[klmama]

I am jealous! We had wind storms knock off every flower - twice! Someday I hope to have your problem! When I do, I plan to make and can spaghetti/pizza sauce, salsa, and ketchup.

[lllll]

Roasted cherrry tomatoes are good. Spray a pan with Pam, roast in oven at 400 degrees until they're sunken and shriveled looking. (less than 30 min??) Toss in with pasta dishes, eat as is, etc.

 

We make tomato sandwiches with the big ones. (This is vegan, but you can convert for yourself.)

 

Toast bread (we use square sourdough loaves from Walmart or Kroger - no fat in them - they will slice them for you if you ask them)

 

Spread liberally with mayo (we use vegan recipe) and sprinkle with salt and pepper and Creole Seasoning (Tony Cachere brand - Wal Mart).

 

 

Slice thin and layer with:

 

tomato (Only fresh homegrown will do. I also put salt and plenty of pepper here.)

red onion

avocado

lettuce of any kind

mung bean sprouts

olives (21yod likes these - I don't)

 

 

Sometimes, I spread one piece of the toast with a grilled cheese sauce we make (vegan). But, generally, I eat them without it.

 

 

Pour glass of sweet, ice tea (Luzianne brand made with natural sugar) and grab a kitchen towel (it's messy!) and sit down and eat. This is one of my all time favorite meals.

[secular_mom]

pico de gallo!!!!!!

[homeschoolmom4]

My mom would make homemade vegetable soup using tomatoes. She would can a lot of it. Does anyone do that anymore, can homemade vegetable soup?

[Tammyla]

I love tuna salad in them or plain old cottage cheese topped with pepper. I also use a regular old stuffed rice and meat or beans green pepper recipe and bake as usual.

Edited July 6, 2009 by Tammyla

[amyco]

The best thing to do with excess tomatoes is give them to me! :lol:

 

Failing that, the next best thing is to make sauce, or can them. Sauce is easy, and you can just freeze it and have yummy tomato sauce all winter, and use it for pasta sauce, soup, pizza sauce, etc.

[Melinda in VT]

I like to layer fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. I also like this combination on a sandwich made with crusty bread.

 

Tomatoes and cucumbers sliced and tossed with green onions, vinegar and oil is another favorite.

[Retired]

Homemade salsa and it cans well. It is so much better than the store stuff.

[Dirtroad]

Make homemade sauce, homemade ketchup & even homemade tomato soup. You can also freeze them for soups in the winter. Just google for best recipe or technique.

[Kathy in MD]

Add tomato juice and bar-b-que sauce for current consumption and canning.

 

You can also dry tomatoes and tomato sauce for future use.

 

And then in fall, you'll have green tomatoes. Think fried green tomatoes and green tomato pie.

[Happy]

I like to layer fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. I also like this combination on a sandwich made with crusty bread.

 

Tomatoes and cucumbers sliced and tossed with green onions, vinegar and oil is another favorite.

 

Yes! Those are favorite summer lunch recipes around here.

 

Here's a few recipes from my blog.

 

And here.

 

Enjoy! I love tomato time!

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Bring a pot of water to a boil. cut x's on the bottom of the tomatoes. lower them one at a time in the boiling water with a slotted spoon. As soon as the skin splits take them out and let them cool slightly. When you are done cut out the top part of the core and slip the skins off. Then put 3 medium tomatoes to a quart freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal shut. Stick in the freezer and use all winter instead of canned tomatoes in recipes. One bag equals one regular can of stewed tomatoes.

 

I also:

make salsa and freeze in pint canning jars

eat tomatoes on every sandwich.

eat sliced tomatoes at dinner every day

put in pasta salad

chop up three fresh tomatoes to sub for a can of stewed in recipes during the summer.

eat baked tomatoes - slice into a casserole dish drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with herbs and top with bread crumbs and parmesan, bake.

[BillieBoy]

Funny thing is I do not like tomatoes but I can grow them like nobody's business.... I can tomato sauce, dehydrate for sun dried, and my favorite...making tomato paste. I use a huge pot, like a canner, and cook the tomatoes down on low heat almost all day. Then run it though a mill to separate the seeds and skins. Put it back on low heat and reduce it as far down as you can without burning. You will need to stir frequently. Once it is very thick, like ketchup, I spread it out thin on large metal sheet pans. Place the pans on saw horses in the sun covered with cheese cloth. Bring it in a night, you can start combining pans at this point, then put it out the next day again. You will need a scrapper to turn the mixture every so often. Depending on how hot it is this whole process can take several days. You will not be sorry. 6 gallons of tomatoes are condensed into the most sweet, tangy, flavorful tomato ball the size of a softball. Old timers kept this ball covered in olive oil in a crock. One full tablespoon will flavor an entire family sized stew. Yum, yum, yum...:drool5:

[Gretchen in NJ]

One year I made homemade ketchup. It was very good if I do say so myself.

[mcconnellboys]

Could someone please give us actual recipes for the salsa or pico de gallo, please???? Especially if it's for the freezer, rather than canning....

[LibraryLover]

Can or freeze?

 

If you aren't up to that, salsa is nice. My kids go through salsa like crazy.

[OrganicAnn]

We eat the best fresh.

 

Some of the extra we use in fresh salsa, tomato pie, tomato bread salad, etc.

 

The bulk we use for spaghetti sauce. If you don't want to peal the tomatoes, you can cook, cool and then use a food process or blender to whirl the skins into tiny bits. We freeze, but I think you use about the same recipe for freezing as you do canning. Although canning sometimes you add more salt or even vinegar. We can never have too much spaghetti sauce. (we add garlic - homegrown, basil - homegrown, onion - homegrown and some salt and pepper).

 

You can pickle tomatoes especially green tomatoes.

 

You can just freeze tomatoes cut into quarters for use in soups/chili during the winter.

 

Drying tomatoes is easy especially with a nifty dehydrator.