Stewed Tomatoes

[nettieplee]

I did a search and couldn't find what I'm looking for, so here's hoping someone can help. I'd really like a recipe for stewed tomatoes. My husband and I travel frequently to Amish country in PA and they are a staple on the smorgasboards down there. I even asked one of my Amish friends, but she doesn't like tomatoes so didn't have a recipe. The tomatoes are in a thicker sauce than the ones you buy canned in the grocery store (but not thick like a pasta sauce) and are a bit sweet. I particullarly like them paired with mac n cheese. I would love to be able to make these at home. Does anyone have a recipe for them?

Thanks!!

[Andy M.]

I've never made them but you could get some ideas by reading the ingredients on a can of stewed tomatoes next time you're in the supermarket.

[thumpershere2]

I make stewed tomatoes from my canned garden tomatos and I just heat and add a little sugar and serve. Sometimes I put cubed bread in the tomatos. You can also add celery and onions that have been precooked and then add to tomatos.

[callie]

We love stewed tomatoes, too. I jazz mine up with some Lawry's and black pepper. Usually my garden tomatoes are very sweet - but if not I add a pinch of sugar. I like to add bits of bread to mine, too. Then they become "breaded tomatoes."

And the bread sort of thickens them up a bit.

[auntdot]

Here is a recipe for stewed tomatoes from Michie Tavern, about a mile or so,as I remember, from Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson near Charlottesville, VA.

Their recipe is not a secret, they have it printed on a card and we have made it and really enjoy it.

Michie tavern tomatoes


Monticello Thomas Jefferson

Ingredients


Into a sauce pan place the following:

4 cups crushed tomatoes drained and reserve liquid. (will need 2 of 28 oz. size cans).
1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar (1/3 will usually be enough)
2 Tbs. melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste (often not needed)
6 baked day old biscuits crumbled (regular size, not jumbo size) or an equal volume of crumbled day old cornbread

Combine all ingredients and simmer (covered) for 15 minutes.
Add reserved liquid as needed. Mixture should be moderately thick

We usually add 1/2 cup of sugar because we like it sweet.

This may not be exactly what you want but you can always play with it a bit.

[marmalady]

I make 'em all the time - was a 'tradition' at our house growing up to serve them with mac and cheese. This is the way my mother made 'em -

1 large can peeled tomatoes
about 1 T. brown sugar
about 1/2 cup diced onion
butter
Just a shot of cider vinegar

Melt a little butter in a pot, add the onions, and cook til they're just clear; add the tomatoes, and sugar, bring to a boil, then simmer about 30 minutes til the tomatoes start breaking down. Add a little more sugar if you need to, and s/p as needed. Right before serving, do the shot of vinegar if you like. Oh, and add another pat of butter at the end.

[licia]

Auntdot, thanks for posting that recipe from Michie Tavern. I had forgotten I have a cookbook from there. I can't find a date in it, but it looks quite old. I'd think it probably isn't as old as it looks but the way it was made up. A friend brought it to me many years ago. I've made some things from it, but mostly I've read it. Thanks for the memories!

[purrfectlydevine]

After I sweat the onion and celery I add a little flour to make a roux to thicken them a little bit.

[Michael in FtW]

And, yet one more recipe to throw into the mix! This is very close to what my German/Irish Grandma made - and her ancestors were from Pennsylvania.

[licia]

My paternal great grandmother used to make "tomato gravy" and serve it over split biscuits with slices of ham. I was only 5 years old when I remember eating breakfast with her. She let me have coffee too. For some reason my dad and I spent the night with her. She was about the size of granny on the Beverly Hillbillies, but she wasn't as vocal or feisty. She always got her way, but she was very quiet about it. I don't know what she used to get her way.