Easy Freezer-Ready Homemade Stewed Tomatoes

Fresh peeled tomatoes may be used in place of canned, just slightly blanch in boiling water firstly for a couple minutes then peel and chop before using in this recipe, this is great to have handy in the freezer ready to use in any recipe, and much better than the canned stuff. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Great to use in stews, casseroles, sauces or any recipe calling for stewed tomatoes, this is even good added to homemade pasta sauce. This is just a basic recipe, to this I like to add in a couple tablespoons tomato paste and a few drops of Tabasco sauce, just to kick it up a bit, all ingredient amounts may be adjusted to suit taste.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Yields: 5 cups

Ingredients

• 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, slightly drained (do not use diced tomatoes for this)
• 2  tablespoons butter (or to taste)
• 1  teaspoon salt or 1  teaspoon seasoning salt
• 3 -5  teaspoons sugar (or to taste)
• 1  celery, chopped
• 1  small onion, finely chopped
•  Tabasco sauce (optional add in if you like spicy) or   hot sauce (optional add in if you like spicy)
• 2 1⁄2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with cold water to create a paste, optional if you want a thicker texture then use)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil (except the water and cornstarch)breaking up the tomatoes slightly with a fork.
2. Adjust salt and sugar to taste.
3. Simmer on low heat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add in the cornstarch/water mix and simmer for another 15 minutes (if you want a thicker consistency add in more cornstarch mixed with water).
5. Cool and divide into freezer-safe containers.