You Say Tomato

We had another bumper crop of tomatoes this year.  But, I didn't want to have to can them.  We did that a couple of years ago and it seemed to me to be a lot of work.  And then I was a little worried about the freshness of the canned tomatoes.  Although I think I used them a couple of months ago for salsa.

Anyway, I wanted to see if we could do something with the tomatoes other than canning.  So, the following is what I did.

I found a easy, decent recipe on the Internet for spaghetti sauce that can be made and frozen.  And, I could make it in the crock pot.  So I did and then froze it but we have yet to eat it.  The true test will come next week!

Next I made a tomato pie.  I will be honest, we were all a little skeptical.  But, I had to do something with the tomatoes.  Again, I googled an easy recipe and made this Monday night.

We were all pleasantly surprised.  It had great taste.  I think next time I would mix the cheese spread with the tomatoes.  (The recipe called for it to be spread on the top.)  We ate the whole thing.  The kids didn't even complain.  I am so in the habit of taking pictures for PW cooking that I just kind of automatically took the pictures of the pie. 

Next was a Pioneer Woman recipe.  It was Caprese Salad.  I still have no idea how to say it.  We had friends over for dinner when I made the below salad.  She is Italian and she told me how she thought it was pronounced.

Think slices of tomatoes.

Think slices of mozzarella cheese.

Reduced balsamic vinegar.

Using my very trendy serving platter.

Presentation is everything.  It really did make our serving table look so much prettier!  All the adults liked this one and a couple of the kids.  

So, that is what we have done with a bunches of our tomatoes.  It was a little challenging but a lot of fun.  I might be a chef yet . . .