Since Tuesday afternoon I’ve been trying to think of ways to use up the 6 pounds of wonderful heirloom tomatoes we got in this week’s farm share. I’m one of those strange people who don’t particularly love raw tomatoes. I enjoy fresh salsa, bruschetta (which I made for lunch today), and Caprese salad, but a girl can only make so much of those in any given week, you know? I also am picky about my tomato sauce. My husband makes an *amazing* sauce that requires Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes — he can’t get the same taste from fresh ones and really, why mess with a good thing? But there had to be some way I could easily use these:
And that’s when it dawned on me (actually, it dawned on me just before I fell asleep last night): stewed tomatoes!!! I remember my mom and Babci both making stewed tomatoes from the ‘maters in my Uncle Frank’s graden. I think Babci used to can them, but since I have yet to dive into the world of home canning (though believe me — it’s on the horizon) I figure I can freeze them easily and then use in soups, stews, chili, or various recipes. They’re also good as a side dish. My mom and grandmother made them on the stove, but I’m going to make them in my Crock Pot!
Slow Cooker Stewed Tomatoes
- 6 whole to 8 large ripe tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 medium onion — thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Quickly dip tomatoes in boiling water; remove skin. Quarter tomatoes and remove core and seeds. In slow-cooker, combine all ingredients except parsley. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle top with parsley. Makes 4 to 5 servings. Note: Recipe can be doubled and still fit in a 3 1/2 quart slow-cooker.
For more mouth-watering recipes, be sure to check out this week’s edition of Slow Cooking Thursday!
Wonderful recipe! Have a wonderful day.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
ok I am going to steal this lol… but I need to get a new crock pot first… but I am going to do use this sometime!!
We pick up our CSA share today. I can’t wait to see what’s in store! We totally missed last week because of Montreal. 🙁 I just love that bowl that you have the tomatoes in. I’m not a fan of stewed tomatoes ~ I would probably make salsa, LOL! 🙂 But that recipe does sound good. Happy Friday!