10 Things to do with Tomatoes
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With tomatoes coming in more and more every day around my house, I thought I would share some ideas on what to do with them with you today.
I hope you planted tomatoes this year! I strongly encourage you to grow however much of your own food as you possibly can and in many parts of the country it is not too late to get a late summer garden in. You will be glad you did this fall when you see how high our food prices will be going (yes, in addition to the heights they have already reached).
Are Tomatoes Fruits or Vegetable?
Well it depends on who you ask. If you ask a botanist who knows the criteria regarding what makes a fruit a fruit, then tomatoes are actually fruits, not vegetables.
Bottom line (I guess) is fruits contain seeds, while vegetables typically don’t have seeds and consist mainly of roots, stems and leaves.
For me it really doesn’t matter much… I just want to enjoy these little beauties with a lovely meal. Now go get you some tomatoes and enjoy them in these 10 different ways…
Here are a few of my favorite things to do with tomatoes:
Freezing Tomatoes
Freezing tomatoes is an incredibly simple way to put them up. It’s fast, easy, and requires no special equipment. You will be rewarded with garden fresh taste when you use them in soups and stews this fall. There is nothing like it! Try my family’s chicken stew, my chili, this phenomenal goulash, or even add them to store bought spaghetti sauce to liven up the flavor!
I have been making tomato chips almost daily for several weeks now because we eat them just as fast as I can get them made! This simple method yields a deliciously crisp chip that can be eaten as a snack or tossed in soups and stews to rehydrate and serve like you would traditional stewed tomatoes.
This is a very common lunch for me during tomato season. I slice fresh tomatoes, add a few simple ingredients, and eat until I’m floundered! They are just that good!
Make Tomato Pie!
Tomato pie is a wonderful side dish that can also double as a meal in itself!
Make Tomato and Cucumber Salad!
This is one of my favorite salads to bring to family reunions, summer potlucks, or to eat pretty much year round.
It’s always best with garden fresh tomatoes though.
Make Slow Cooker Tacos
This is an easily customizable meal using whatever veggies your garden is currently giving you. Yesterday I made it and doubled the tomatoes, used fresh squash from a neighbor and paired it with the other simple ingredients and seasonings for a fresh and filling home cooked meal in one!
Corn relish is good on pretty much anything but I especially enjoy it on top of a bowl of pinto beans or served alongside fresh cornbread. This also makes a great Christmas gift to anyone who would enjoy a little taste of summer during the winter months. 
Tomatoes and Okra
This four-ingredient tomatoes and okra recipe with crispy bacon and tender onion will knock your socks off. I mean you did see bacon in the title, right?!
Fried Green tomatoes are as Southern as Sweet tea, and for good reason! If you have any unripened tomatoes or harder than usual red ones, use this recipe to make one Jim Dandy of a side dish!
Greek Chicken Tacos
Fresh chopped tomatoes are always wonderful served atop tacos. This recipe combines them with fresh herbs to make a delicious topping on Greek Chicken Tacos.
Share Them With Neighbors!
A tradition as old as gardens are, sharing bounty with neighbors fosters friendships and lends a helping hand as well. If you have a bountiful garden this year and know someone who doesn’t:
I have been freezing home grown “extra” tomatoes for some years now, and inevitably when I mention this, the person will go, “EWW! don’t they get mushy??” Huh? Then I patiently, (or sometimes impatiently!) recite a list of things you can do with frozen tomatoes, soup, stew, sauce, etc. Sometimes you just want to slap a person up side their head!! lol!
Morning Christy!
These all are making my mouth water… The pictures are wonderful!
My tomatoes are still green & growing, will saving for when they are red, yummy
Hugs,
Grace
I am a very picky eater. I didn’t like lettuce until age 20, and I was 30 before I would eat eggs. Guess what the forties have brought? TOMATOES! I am loving them, and my husband’s spring garden is harvesting more than we can handle. The tomato melts are the most delicious thing I have ever eaten! It’s like a carb-less pizza! I am so addicted.
🙂
Christy, I love your friendly, immensely readable posts! Sometimes the simplest ideas are the reminders I need, like freezing random tomatoes when you don’t have enough to can a big batch. Of course, having chickens to feed your scraps to helps as well, lol! Have you considered venturing into the world of pressure canning? There’s a little bit of a learning curve involved, and of course you need to invest in a pressure canner, but the sky is the limit then. I safely can beef, pork, chicken, soups, pinto beans … and my daughter just loves my version of canned chili. (All of these items MUST be pressure canned). I’d be happy to tell you more, but as a busy mom and food blogger I know your time is precious. You may need to edit this out of my response, but you would most likely thoroughly enjoy reading Jackie Clay’s articles and Q&A through Backwoods Home magazine. (www.backwoodshome.com) I’m not affiliated with them – just absolutely love the material. Blessings, Betsy
I’ve heard about Backwoods magazine and every time I think “Ooh that sounds like something I’d like!”. I must go visit their site today! I have really wanted (longed) to get into pressure canning but I have a glass top stove. I do water bath canning on it and use all of my cast iron cookware and all of the other things people warn you not to do on a glass top stove, but after looking into it I think the research about pressure canning on one being very dangerous is sound. I have thought about getting a plug in stove eye and doing it on that but not sure if it would get hot enough or if my countertops could survive it :). But I absolutely agree, pressure canning is something that it is very important for us to learn and could save us a great deal of money (and worry) later on. I really should get a stove that would allow me to do all of the things I want to do and in truth, I DREAM of getting new appliances like that, but I just can’t bring myself to buy one when I have one that works, and of course when I consider shelling out all of that money! lol. I guess I’ve got to wait until this one dies or I get that little cabin I’m dreaming of. But you are so so so so right and so smart!
Hi Christi,
I am so happy that things are going good for you and the family. I really appreciated the recipe on fudge icing…….so did my huvbby 🙂
So glad to hear that you liked it Maggie!!
My plastic plants die. I love that they sell tomatoes on the vine. Love the smell: takes me back home.
I know I shouldn’t laugh…but LOL. It is pretty bad if the plastic ones die.
Make mater sammiches. Keep those down-home recipes coming, Christy. Southen cooking is the best!