Slow Cooking Thurday: Stewed Tomatoes

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!