Homemade Cajun Stewed Tomatoes are delicious since we make them with
fresh homegrown tomatoes (the most tasty tomato there is). I guess you
could do this with store-bought tomatoes but I don't see the point if
you're looking for maximum tomato flavor.
I say that because most store-bought tomatoes have little real tomato
flavor.
12 lg. ripe homegrown tomatoes
1 lg. onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup green onions
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tbs. butter or margarine
water to boil tomatoes (to remove skin)
Put the water to boil. Note: you can do a few tomatoes at a time so you
don't really need a pot big enough to hold all of the tomatoes. Fill one
of your sink basins 1/2 way with cold water.
Make a small "X" at the bottom of each tomato then cut out the core. Put
the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30 seconds, remove and put in sink
to cool for a few minutes. Use a paring knife to remove skin then cut in
salad-sized wedges or smaller if you wish.
Sauté all the chopped vegetables in butter until just clear. Add cut
tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Cook covered until the tomatoes are
nice and soft. This can be done in a crock pot also.
Let cool and freeze in quart zipper-lock bags. This will equal about 2
cans of stewed tomatoes. If you normally use one can of stewed tomatoes
use pint bags, or fill the quart bags only half-way. Be sure to get all
of the air out.
Here's a few creole recipes with tomatoes.
Steak and Tomato, Lima beans,
Shrimp Creole. Do these with fresh homegrown tomatoes and they'll be
killer dishes!