"Sun Dried" Tomatoes

We have a small garden and we are harvesting a good amount of tomatoes his year! Yay! I love fresh tomatoes. They are delicious plain or cut and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I also like the flavor that "sun dried" tomatoes add to dishes.  Many of the tomatoes labeled sun dried at the store are not really dried in the sun but they are still called sun dried.  I used a dehydrator for mine. I know we cannot eat all the tomatoes in our garden right now so I'm going to dry some for later.

Here is what you are going to need: 

- tomatoes, I used 12 Roma tomatoes (Roma work best because they are less juicy, but any will do, you just might have to take the seeds out)

- salt and pepper to taste

- basil (I have some from my garden too and I am going to dry it with the tomatoes)

- dehydrator or warm oven

1. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces. Take the seeds out if you are using a really juicy tomato.  Place them on the racks of the dehydrator or on a cookie sheet. Add in the cut basil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Let dry until the tomatoes are dry to the touch but still plyable.  Mine took about 6 hours in my dehydrator.

3. Store in an airtight ziplock bag or in a jar. I did mine in a jar and I'm going to keep it in the freezer so there isn't a chance of them going moldy.  If you use a ziplock bag and are able to get all the air out these should keep in the fridge. These will taste great on a pizza or in a pasta or rice dish.