Eating from the Pantry: Okra & Tomatoes Recipe

Christie Dedman/News Staff

This recipe is another one of my on the fly, eating from the pantry recipes that I whipped up one evening.

It combines garden fresh okra and canned tomatoes I got during the Italian Days sale at

.

So this is super cheap.

The okra was free.  A neighbor has a huge okra garden and shared some of his harvest.

I love fried okra, only when someone else fries it for me.  So approaching the free okra with a plan to use it up before it ruined I whipped out the canned tomatoes.

RECIPE:

4 cups of chopped cleaned okra

1 large can of chopped or stewed tomatoes (2 small cans will work)

Half a bell pepper, chopped.

(You can add onions or bacon if you want, I didn't.)

Salt, pepper & I added a tablespoon of Tabasco -- but that may be too much heat for some

Teaspoon of butter

DIRECTIONS:

In a pot, pour in all the ingredients

Stir and bring to a boil

After boiling for a few minutes, cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

If you like the okra soft, you'll need to cook it longer.

HOW TO SERVE:

There are a number of ways to make this a main dish or a side dish.

You could add a protein and make it an entree.

You could eat it as a bowl by itself with a dollop of sour cream.

You could also serve it over rice.

(You could also add some browned ground beef and make a stuffed bell pepper soup.)

Go

canned tomato use. (It pays to stock up!)

Go

ptions.

So do you have a favorite down home recipe for okra?  I would love to hear it.