Ten Uses for Tomatoes This Fall on a Budget

Tomatoes may seem scary to you. You look at the tomato, and it almost seems like it's making a funny face back at you. Maybe it has a sinister smile, or maybe it looks like it's staring you down. Whatever the case may be, you can turn this evil into good, when you find creative ways to use the tomato. No longer will the tomato intimidate you, as now it will invigorate your senses. Here are ten uses for tomatoes this fall on a budget.

1. Tomato jelly. Interesting. I never had really thought about making tomato jelly until I went to a farmer's market where they were selling it. This was all organic tomato jelly. It was made with organic tomatoes and organic fruit pectin. The choice of tomatoes is what varies the flavor here. You should try different tomatoes until you find one that suits your taste. For instance, cherry tomatoes are generally sweeter than large tomatoes, and yellow tomatoes taste different than most red ones.

2. Tomato soup. Yes, anyone can buy a can of Campbell's tomato soup at the store, or even Progresso's Tomato soup with added spices and flavorings. But have you tried to make your own tomato soup? If you blend tomatoes in a blender, you'll get a nice soup base. Then, cut up small pieces of tomato so you'll have actual tomato chunks in the soup. Add spices to your liking. You may want to use italian seasoning, basil, and/or oregano. Add milk. You can use products to thicken the soup or just heat it up as is.

3. Vegetable soup. Tomatoes make a great base for vegetable soup. Blend some tomatoes to get a nice tomato liquid mixture, and then cut up more tomatoes, just like with the tomato soup. But this time, you're going to add other chunks of vegetables along with the spices. Skip the milk.

4. Tomato candy. Have you ever made apple candy or tasted it the last time you drove through Virginia? It's something to remember. Well, instead of using apples, use tomatoes. You will use gelatin to make the gel part of the candy, and then fruit pectin and pureed tomato. This recipe can last for months.

5. Tomato dressing. Try making your own tomato dressing. Use some vegetable oil, and puree tomatoes in the blender, adding to the vegetable oil. Then, season with spices of your choosing such as italian seasoning.

6. Homemade salsa. There's nothing like making things yourself to save money on the budget. To make your own salsa, chop up tomatoes into a dish. Then, chop up sweet onions and green and red peppers. You can add chili peppers if you want an incredibly spicy salsa. Let the salsa sit in the refrigerator, so that the juices of the vegetables begin to form as a base for the salsa. Enjoy.

7. Pasta sauce. You don't have to have a thick marinara sauce that has tomato paste. All you really need is to chop up some tomatoes and let them sit in a bowl until the juices form with it. Then, cook the mixture on the stove. Add any spices you would like to complete the flavoring. You may choose to add other vegetables to the pasta sauce.

8. Cheese covered tomatoes. Okay, I stole this idea from my boyfriend but at least he has the satisfaction of knowing he's getting credit for the recipe. Take a tomato slice, and sprinkle parmesan or mozzarella cheese on the tomato. Put it in a sauce pan and cook it for a few minutes. You can also add spices like fresh basil or rosemary, according to your taste, and mayonnaise. This will also go well on almost any sandwich.

9. Fried tomatoes. Wasn't this part of the title of a movie in the 1980's? Well, what you do here is take a tomato and dip it in batter and deep fry, just like you would fried zucchini or anything else. This will work best with small cherry tomatoes.

10. Tomato mayonnaise. Yes, you've heard of putting mayonnaise and tomatoes on a sandwich. You may even have blended honey and mayonnaise together to make a honey mayonnaise. Now, you simply blend tomatoes into a puree, and then mix with mayonnaise. You can add some light seasoning as well, such as italian seasoning or oregano.