One of my favorite things to grow in the garden is tomatoes. Tomatoes are so easy to maintain and they harvest plentiful fruits of labor. There is many versions of the tomato that pair beautifully in most dishes. The uses for tomatoes are quite endless.

It does not matter what type of tomato, there is one thing that all tomatoes have in common.

They are green before they ripen!

Then the green tomatoes turn that gloriously deep red color that we have all seen in the grocery store.

With that being said, the only way to have green tomatoes on hand, is if you grow them yourselves or receive them from someone else who is growing them.

Farmers like to send grocer's their tomato harvest at the peak of ripeness. Therefor your grocer can't help you with this recipe.

The reason above is one of the main reasons I love growing tomatoes (and will continue to as long as I have all my fingers to do so!). 

If you have grown tomatoes this year, and your lines are still producing, you should be able to try this recipe out this season. 

Save one of those mason jars you had planned for canning all your tomatoes for something else!

These green tomatoes are so simple to do! You'll want to grow tomatoes every year for these tasty treats! :-D

You just slice them up and season them with salt and pepper, then you coat them with some seasoned corn meal (Gluten Free all the way!! YES!) 

By the way, did I forget to mention that this is a southern treat!? Maybe you guessed it when you read that they are fried? Lol, but let me tell you that the south has some great ideas at what to cook in oil.

My recipe calls for light pan frying, not deep frying. A little oil, just to coat the skillet does the trick for each batch.

Just keep in mind that you should ALWAYS cook green tomatoes. They are not good to eat raw. This method is a perfect and safe way to cook up these yummy treats.

After frying these green babies, you should end up with a crispy outer crust, perfectly salted, and melt in you mouth in every bite, batch of delicious Fried Green Tomatoes!

These can be eaten as a Snack, Appetizer, or even a Meal. You might not be able to resist this Crunchy Texture and flavor. These will have you wanting to garden for the rest of your life! :-D

Ingredients

5 -6 medium/large Green Tomatoes*, sliced

1 cup Corn Meal

3/4 cup Oil, Divided (1/8 cup at a time for frying)

Salt

Pepper

Directions

1. Heat only 1/8 cup of oil in large skillet over med high heat.
2. Season corn meal with about 1 teaspoon of salt and a couple teaspoons of pepper, stir well to incorporate
3. Lay sliced green tomatoes on counter and season one side of each tomato with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to season.
4. Place one tomato at a time into the seasoned corn meal and coat each side till fully covered. Only the sides of the tomatoes slices shouldn't be fully coated.
5. Place several slices of coated tomatoes into the skillet with the heated oil. Place only enough tomatoes to cover the bottom of skillet. Do NOT stack tomatoes on each other. Save the remaining tomatoes for another round of frying
6. After about 5 or 6 minutes, flip each tomato over and pour another 1/8 cup into the skillet (Only add more oil if the first side of frying soaks up most of the oil. If pan still has a lot of oil, don't add the oil)
7. After frying the other side of the tomatoes for 5 or 6 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and place them into a dish lined with a few paper towels to soak up any excess oils
8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 until all tomatoes are cooked! Enjoy! :-D

Tips:

• *Tomatoes must be green (unripened) and when tomatoes are green, they MUST be cooked fully***
• Keep an eye on the amount of oil still in pan while frying. Oil should always coat the bottom of pan for frying
• Feeds about 2  People, Recipe can be doubled over and over, until you have the desired amount of fried green tomatoes
• Looses crispiness when refrigerated; Best results when eaten the day of