Top 10 Ways to Eat Fresh Tomatoes

Summer is upon us and my family is enjoying the bounty of fresh tomatoes.  We don’t have a garden but we are blessed to have friends and co-workers who share with us.

Actually, I don’t eat tomatoes unless they are fresh.  Grocery store tomatoes have no appeal to me.

Have you seen Jane and Leo’s garden at Cottage at the Crossroads? You really need to see it.  It is absolutely beautiful and just look at all of those tomatoes! They have enough tomatoes to supply their whole community!

Our #1 favorite way to eat fresh tomatoes is to slice them. We love a supper of fresh garden vegetables but regardless of what we are eating for supper, you will almost always find a slice of tomato on our plates.

Our second favorite way to eat tomatoes is on a tomato sandwich. Nothing says summer like a tomato sandwich!

Our third favorite way would be on a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. How could anything not be good with bacon on it?

Fourth on the list is spaghetti sauce made with fresh tomatoes.

Our fifth favorite tomato dish is tomato pie. Tomatoes, cheese, bacon, and onions are a no fail. Click here to see the recipe that I use.

Another favorite tomato dish that we love is Cornbread Salad. It has a layer of cornbread, pinto beans, and fresh tomatoes topped with cheese and bacon. Need I say more?

We also love fresh salsa. Rhoda at Southern Hospitality just shared her recipe and it looks delicious.

Although we don’t eat it as much in summer as we do in winter, we love vegetable soup made with a tomato base. I usually start with fresh tomatoes then throw in all of the leftover vegetables from the refrigerator! It always turns out delicious.

If you are entertaining, you need to try Yvonne’s Caprese Towers. Click the link for her recipe.

They look so elegant and delicious!

We also love fried green tomatoes but our friends usually give us ripe red tomatoes. When we do get green tomatoes, I slice them, give them a light coating of cornmeal and fry them in a little vegetable oil. Yum yum!

Finally, when we have so many tomatoes that we can’t eat all of them, I freeze them to use later in sauces and soups. I know it sounds crazy, but even frozen tomatoes taste better when they come from my freezer rather than the grocery store!

I hope that you are enjoying your summer as much as I am!

I’ll be linking to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On the Porch.

Tomato Pie

If you read my last post then you know that I am attempting to be very ambitious this week and post 3 recipes for enjoying summer’s bounty! I have to hurry before summer is gone. Hopefully you will still have time to try these out. If you missed the recipe for Blueberry Crumble you can read that post here or you can go directly to the printable recipe here. Today I am sharing the recipe that I use for Tomato Pie. Several years ago my mom made Tomato Pies and I never even tried one but lately I have thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. Actually some friends took us to a great restaurant, West Cobb Diner in Marietta, Ga, and my friend had Tomato Pie as a vegetable. Of course I tasted it and it was delicious so I had to look for a recipe to try. The rest is history.

The photo above was taken as soon as it came out of the oven so it’s still a little runny, but delicious all the same.  We have had friends to share their fresh tomatoes with us this summer and this was a great way to enjoy them.

I start by filling a ready to bake pie shell with sliced fresh tomatoes. The recipe calls for 4 but I just  fill the shell without counting.

Next, I sprinkle on salt, pepper, seasoned salt, basil, oregano, and use my McCormack Italian Herb grinder. Again, I did not measure.

Next I added  a layer of green onions and followed that with a layer of cooked bacon.

The final layer is 1/4 cup of mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s with olive oil) mixed with 2 cups of cheese ( I used Borden’s 4 cheese mixture of Mexican cheddar, Jack, Asadero, and Queso Blanco).

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for 30 more minutes. This pie reminds me of deep dish pizza.

I know this sounds like Hoggy Mae, but I get hungry just looking at this picture! I hope you will give it a try and enjoy it as much as I have!

Click here for the printable recipe.

Check back for my last recipe for enjoying summer’s bounty.

I’ll be linking to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style and to Homeworks at Worthing Court.