All My Children

After months of diligently watering my tomato plants every day, the fruits of my labor have produced these!

Seriously, how cute are these? I just love them!

Here are all my green children:

They smell so good! So rich and herby!

Look at this vibrant, delicious Oregano... Don't you just want to stick your face in there and inhale? Mmm!

Mmm... fresh, woodsy Rosemary. Don't stick your face in here though, it would probably poke your eyes out!

Don't even think about touching your face after you touch one of these babies!These jalapeños are firey hot! They add the perfect touch of heat to any dish.

Soft, delicate Sage. One whiff will instantly transport you to Thanksgiving dinner. Stuffing and Sage, a match made in heaven!

Since I am getting ready to leave for NYC for a month, I figured I had better put some of this fabulous produce to good use. So, what do you do with a whole bunch of tomatoes? Make tomato pie, of course!

This is a very easy recipe, although time consuming. First you have to make a pie crust, which is not difficult, but it has to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before you use it. So there's 30 minutes of prep time right there. After you make the dough and chill it, you can then start peeling and slicing the tomatoes. This is a very squishy, slippery job. Then you have to grate one cup of cheddar cheese. You can never have too much cheese, in my opinion, so I grated one cup of white cheddar, and one cup of sharp yellow cheddar. I also then cut up slices of fresh mozzarella. (So I'm a cheese freak, ok!) Next, you mix the 2 cups of shredded cheese with a cup of mayo. By the way, if you haven't figured this out yet, this is not a low fat dish. But I don't care because it's freakin delicious. And it's made with tomatoes, which are healthy. Moving on...

I also added one diced jalapeño, just cause I'm crazy like that. Oh, and minced 3 or 4 big garlic cloves. (Did you think you would read a recipe on here that didn't involve garlic? Hello!)

So here's the process after all the slicing/dicing prep work:

1. Roll out pie crust. Lay into a 9 inch pie pan.

2. Bake pie crust for 6-8 minutes, just to give it a good head start.

3. Remove pie crust from oven. Layer tomatoes (I sliced up 5) in the pie.

4. Mix the 2 cups grated cheese with the mayo, jalepeno, and garlic.

5. Spread that mixture on top of the tomatoes.

6. Lay the mozzarella slices on top of all that cheesy-mayo goodness.

7. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Then it looks like this:

Cut up some fresh Basil, sprinkle it all over, and sink your teeth into that cheesy, gooey pie. It was pretty good! Although next time I make it, I will probably add beef. I think it just needed a little more substance to soak up all the juice from the tomatoes. But this dish was definitely a hit in my house. Try it in yours!

And then go walk on the treadmill for at least an hour. You'll have to since you have a whole pie to eat. But it's worth it! Enjoy!