What to do with all the Tomatoes

I found a recipe a couple years ago for chicken with sun-dried tomato sauce that has become one of our family favorites.

It seemed like a good idea to preserve some of our abundance of tomatoes by drying them.

Plus, I was anxious to try out our new Solar Food Dehydrator (Food Pantrie Dryer from Peddlers Wagon).

The process was simple, cut tomatoes into 1/8" slices and lay on trays. Hang dryer outside, out of direct sunlight (which ours was most of the day) and wait.

These took two days; the temperature was around 100 degrees for those days, with nighttime temps around 80 (not kidding). I suppose it would take longer under different weather conditions but the principle is pretty much the same.

We actually own an electric dehydrator and may still

use it in the winter, but this is perfect for our hot summers.

Since we keep our house on the warm side (ie. we're too cheap to use the AC) I figure it's safer to store them in a cold place, so into the freezer they go. I can't wait to take these out in the winter, soak them in olive oil and use them in our old favorites as well as finding some new recipes...yum:)