Tomatoes for soup

 Many of you know we had our first garden this year.  I had no idea that when our tomatoes ripened, we would have such an abundance.  I love tomatoes on sandwiches, in salad, even in cottage cheese for a snack...but a girl can only eat so many tomatoes...

So, I got some advice from my sweet neighbors across the street to cook them down.  Yeah..I had no idea how to do it at first, but here is my attempt and I think they turned out pretty good.

First stick them in the water whole and let them get good and hot.  

I let mine come to a boil for one minute.

When they are done, I cooled mine off faster by putting them in a colander and running cold water over them.  Then you peel them.  Boiling them is the trick to a fast and easy tomato peeling job.  Here is a pic of before (right) and after (left).  

Next, cut the tomatoes up in to chunks and put them in a pot, juice and all.  Cook them until they are hot all the way through.  It turns into a soupy looking consistency.  

Note: I went ahead and seasoned them with a little bit of salt, but this is optional.

Once they are cooled down, put in a freezer bag and freeze for the winter...

This is gonna make us some yummy soup.