# Too many tomatoes and no know how to can



## rydaja (Dec 19, 2012)

I have never canned before and have no supplies to do so or the money at the moment to get them. I was wondering if anyone has any fresh tomato recipes they could share w/me. 

We planted 2 sweet baby girl cherry tomato plants, 4 beefsteak plants, & 4 early girl plants. And our daughter got 2 unknown plants, then after tilling the garden we ended up w/some huge cherry tomato plants growing. So every day I go out to the garden and pull out at least 10 to 15 tomatoes and need to do something w/them without canning them and eating tomato sandwiches everyday.


:ashamed:  :stirpot:


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Food process smooth, strain and chill the juice. Add seasoning to your taste. It's better than V8. You can use the strained pulp in a compost pile or lay out to dry and feed any interested wildlife.

And it doesn't take much freezer space to chop up the tomatoes, freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet or baking sheet, then put into freezer ziploc bags to season soup this winter. 

I like tomato with melted pepper jack cheese on a thick piece of toasted bread. 

And oh my goodness splurge on a bit of bacon to have a good BLT. 

Tomatoes are great to chop and add to creamy pasta.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I make spaghetti. Brown hamburger, add onion and celery until translucent. Add diced tomatoes and herbs. I add 1/3c ketchup sometimes. Cook until thickened, add spaghetti, stir.

Chili. Hamburger, onion, celery, same as above, add tomatoes. Add a can of chili beans, cook until thickened

Enchilada casserole. Same hamburger mixture, add tomatoes and salsa. Put some in bottom of casserole pan, layer corn tortillas or corn chips. repeat 3-4 layers and bake for 20 minutes....James


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Add a couple chopped tomatoes to pepper steak or pizza....James


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Drizzle with olive oil, shake on some spices of your choosing, and toss them into the oven at 400 for about 20-30 minutes, until nicely roasted.

Then freeze on cookie sheets. Oven roasted tomatoes are fantastic all year around, on pizza, in dips( toss them in the food processor first), in salads, whatever makes you happy!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

For the easiest solution, freeze your bigger tomatoes whole. I did that when I was short on time a few years ago, and had a lot of tomatoes, and they sure came in handy at different times. I would run warm water over them and the skin rubs right off.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Last year when we had a bumper crop and I wasn't home I told DH to whiz them in the food processor and freeze in gallon bags. Made great tomato sauce all winter. Still have 1 bag I need to do something with before the tomatoes ripen!


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## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

Dice and freeze for chili or then puree for sauce after thawed.


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## Canning Girl (Jan 13, 2010)

Cut cherry tomatoes in half, toss with chopped basil, some chopped garlic, a T of olive oil and a few T of balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy this as a cherry tomato salad, use it as bruschetta topping on toasted baguette, or put it on top of grilled chicken breasts.


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## slimbo (Aug 10, 2013)

hi,,,,ive sliced and dehyradted them before find a good breaded green tomato recipe


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## rydaja (Dec 19, 2012)

Vosey said:


> Last year when we had a bumper crop and I wasn't home I told DH to whiz them in the food processor and freeze in gallon bags. Made great tomato sauce all winter. Still have 1 bag I need to do something with before the tomatoes ripen!


do you blanche them first or just process them whole?


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## rydaja (Dec 19, 2012)

Thank you everyone these are great ideas!!! :goodjob: :dance: :happy:


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## tlrnnp67 (Nov 5, 2006)

Canning Girl said:


> Cut cherry tomatoes in half, toss with chopped basil, some chopped garlic, a T of olive oil and a few T of balsamic vinegar.
> 
> Enjoy this as a cherry tomato salad, use it as bruschetta topping on toasted baguette, or put it on top of grilled chicken breasts.


That reminds me of this recipe I found on the Kitchen Witch's YouTube channel. It is divine! Of course, I use a lot more garlic and used balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar. 


*Linguini with Salsa Cruda and Pan Seared Halibut *

*Ingredients*

4 halibut filets
1 tsp each salt and pepper
300 grams uncooked linguini pasta
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
*For the Salsa Cruda *

4 cups coarsley chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste (be generous enough with the salt to really bring out the flavor of the tomatoes- start with about a half tsp and then taste as you go increasing as needed
1 tsp dried chilies 
*For the Basil Oil:*

1/2 clove finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
*Directions*
Mix the Salsa Cruda ingredients together in a large bowl.
Pulse the basil oil ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Add the basil oil to the Salsa Cruda. Cover and let sit at room temperature for an hour or two.
Add extra virgin olive to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper and it add to a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Sear the fish for 3 to 4 minutes on each side and then add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and baste the fish with the sauce. Remove the halibut from the pan to a serving platter and cover lightly with tin foil until ready to serve.
In the meantime, cook packaged linguini noodles in well salted boiling water just until al dente, this should take about 8 minutes. Drain, and then add one cup of the salsa cruda to the pasta, and stir well. Serve on a plate topped with the halibut, more salsa cruda, and nice glass of your favourite red wine.


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

It freezes well.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

rydaja said:


> do you blanche them first or just process them whole?


I like things to be the least time-consuming as possible! No blanching, just whizzed up. And I made sauce with seeds and skin most of the time. I did use my old school italian tomato sieve on some to get a smoother, thicker, less bitter sauce.


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## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

No blanching necessary to freeze whole. Just wash, core and freeze. I put them in a pan to freeze solid, then drop in a freezer bag. SO easy. I do this whenever I have extra tomatoes at the end of a canning session. I end up using them first - great flavor and very easy.


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

Marilyn said:


> No blanching necessary to freeze whole. Just wash, core and freeze. I put them in a pan to freeze solid, then drop in a freezer bag. SO easy. I do this whenever I have extra tomatoes at the end of a canning session. I end up using them first - great flavor and very easy.


I do the same, nice thing is it allows you to accumulate a few before bagging and storing. This works well for tomatillos too.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

wannabechef said:


> I do the same, nice thing is it allows you to accumulate a few before bagging and storing. This works well for tomatillos too.
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2


That's a great idea! Our Roma's are just starting and I have other tomatoes for eating, I'd rather make sauce with them.


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## 354508 (Feb 5, 2013)

I too freeze mine whole, it is so handy to be able to pop out exactly how many I need when I need them. Roasted tomatoes are delicious too, DH eats them like candy!


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## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

So glad I found this thread! Just made my very first batch of pizza sauce from my tomatoes, was looking for other ideas so they don't go to waste!


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## tlrnnp67 (Nov 5, 2006)

Kstornado11 said:


> So glad I found this thread! Just made my very first batch of pizza sauce from my tomatoes, was looking for other ideas so they don't go to waste!


 
Recipe, please!!


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

rydaja said:


> I have never canned before and have no supplies to do so or the money at the moment to get them. I was wondering if anyone has any fresh tomato recipes they could share w/me.
> 
> We planted 2 sweet baby girl cherry tomato plants, 4 beefsteak plants, & 4 early girl plants. And our daughter got 2 unknown plants, then after tilling the garden we ended up w/some huge cherry tomato plants growing. So every day I go out to the garden and pull out at least 10 to 15 tomatoes and need to do something w/them without canning them and eating tomato sandwiches everyday.
> 
> ...


Rinse them off and put them in the freezer. Then when you have a good collection of them find some sort of large pan or kettle so you can hot water bath them. It really doesnt take a lot to can tomatoes, a kettle large enough to hold a half dozen quart jars or so, the jars, lids and rings. Wash your jars, thaw out your maters.... the skins will slip right off once they begin to thaw. Put maters in jars to within about a half inch of the rim, put yer lids on nice and snug, and put them in the kettle, add water enough to cover the jars good, place over any heat source hot enough to boil water. Open fire in the back yard, a charcoal grill, stove... anyplace is fine. Once you get the kettle boiling good set yer timer and let boil the prescribed amount of time. This will vary with altitude, size of jars, and types of food so be sure you check a good source and get the proper time for your situation. I prefer USDA canning website available online. Canning is really easy once you get the hang of it.


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