How To Preserve Tomatoes in the Freezer

In my neck of the woods the tomatoes are producing like mad right now.  I have quite a few tomato plants in the garden, including Roma tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, yellow cherry tomatoes, a few types of red cherry tomatoes, and a few larger unknown varieties.  With all the rain and warm temps we've had over the last few months the vines are absolutely loaded with fruit, and I pick a good sized basket full every day now.  I've already used some of the larger tomatoes for chili and a chicken dish, and I munch on the cherry tomatoes like they're candy.  I still end up with more tomatoes than I can use before they go bad though.  I know many people like to can tomatoes, but the thought of adding even more heat to an already hot house isn't very appealing to me.  Several years ago I discovered that you can preserve tomatoes very simply by freezing them.  Just place your washed and dried tomatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet (I put a towel on my so the tomatoes don't get bruised) and put the sheet in the freezer.  Use the best tomatoes you can for this.  Try to avoid freezing tomatoes with bruises, spots, or other damage- use those fresh and just cut out the bad spots.

 

Let the tomatoes harden up for several hours until they're frozen solid.  Then you can just store them in a freezer bag and pull out what you need as you need it.  To thaw the tomatoes you can put them under running water.  As the tomatoes thaw the skins slip off, which is very convenient.  This works for any size or type of tomato.  Don't try to put them in the bag before they're frozen because they'll probably get squashed and it will be a mess when you go to thaw them out.  (Trust me, I'm speaking from experience- LOL).  I usually end up with enough preserved tomatoes to get me through the winter and following spring.  And when you freeze them at the peak of ripeness like this that delicious flavor (along with all those healthy nutrients) is preserved beautifully.  I turn my tomatoes into pasta sauce, chili, tacos, and all sorts of delicious things.  They blend beautifully with the garlic, onions, peppers, eggplant, and fresh herbs from my garden.
I just wanted to share this useful little tip for preserving tomatoes- it's saved me a lot of time and tomatoes!
Thanks for stopping by! =)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Healthy Recipe for Chicken with Chunky Vegetable Sauce

I got this recipe from Fitnessmagazine.com, and with a few minor changes made it to suit my own tastes.

Chicken with Chunky Vegetable Sauce

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 4  medium  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
• 1  cup  finely chopped onion
• 1  tablespoons  olive oil
• 2  cloves  garlic, minced
• 14-1/2  ounce  can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 14  ounces  can artichoke hearts, drained and halved
• 1/3  cup  reduced-sodium chicken broth
•     Dash of black pepper
• 2  teaspoons  drained capers or 2 tablespoons chopped pitted ripe olives
• 1  tablespoons  snipped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 2  cups  hot cooked rice
•     Pitted ripe olives

Directions

Place flour in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in flour to coat. Set aside.
In a large skillet, cook onion in hot oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic; push mixture to sides of pan. Add chicken. Cook 4 minutes, or until brown, turning once. Add tomatoes, artichokes, broth, and pepper; stir.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes, or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Remove chicken.
Simmer tomato mixture, uncovered, about 3 minutes, or until reduced to desired consistency. Stir in capers and oregano. Serve the chicken over rice; top with sauce. If desired, garnish with olives.

Serves 4

I left out the artichokes, capers, and olives, because I really don't care for them.  And I used brown rice instead of white rice (brown rice has more health benefits).   Either way, this is a fresh, healthy, and delicious meal!  Enjoy!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters