Storing Up For Winter

This year we bought a small plot of a gal's garden. Every week I met her in the Kohl's parking lot for my weekly delivery.  I loved getting my basket every week and seeing what new surprises were inside.  The kids thought it was pretty fun too although I'm not sure they liked trying all the new vegetables.  Let me just tell you this was the way to garden.  Someone else does all the word but we get to eat all the yummy produce.  

When the tomatoes came in abundance Shane I went to work.  Shane sure does not mind his time with out this sitters and loves to help me in the kitchen.  Almost every day when the girls have school he asks me what we should make for them for an after school snack.  He was super excited to cook a couple afternoons with me as we made some yummy food to store for the winter.  

We chopped up some carrots, celery and onion ...

and then added some tomatoes.  

We cooked it all down, ran it through the blender and then the colander and ended up with some yummy tomato soup.  It will be perfect with sandwiches this winter.  We also made some vegetable soup with a tomato base with the rest of our yummy vegetables. 

We have processed over a bushel and a half of tomatoes into pizza sauce, pasta sauce and salsa. These were some of the tomatoes we roasted for tomato sauce.  They were so yummy.   

I think Shane probably cranked a bushel of tomatoes through our tomato press.  He wasn't going to stop until he got the job done.  

I am officially done looking at tomatoes for awhile.  I am sure we will enjoy the fruits of our labor this winter and I have to say it was fun to do this with my little guy! He even is into wanting to make his own lunch now.  He just might end up being the chef in the family.