A tin of tomatoes !

I made a tomato and pepper soup this weekend.

Fry onion garlic and peppers in a pan, add tin of tomatoes, herbs of your liking, tablespoon of tomato purée (or ketchup) cook for 20 minutes whizz with a blender. Salt and pepper to taste. Can be kept in a container in fridge for a few days. Nice with cheese on toast or a sandwich

When I made corned beef hash (corned beef, onion, potatoes and carrots - no salt, the corned beef is salty enough) I used to add a large tin of tomatoes for flavour, and adjust liquid by only adding a cup of oxo or equivalent in water.

Tinned tomatoes go into spaghetti bolognese in this house.

I love tinned tomatoes, but have to remove the skins!
I don’t really use them in a recipe, as such, except for the pasta you mention.
I make Cheese on toast, with lots of cheese, heat the tomatoes and spoon them over the top. (I don’t use all the juice. I freeze the remainder to add to a casserole another day). Mixed dried herbs sprinkled over the top gives it a kick.
I’m no cook either, so this is tasty and easy. It’s not exactly the meal recipe you wanted, I know, but it is delicious.

Yes my husband just likes them warmed up on buttered toast too

Tinned food lasts for ages, there is no rush. Nothing will happen to them. My suggestion is to cook with minced meat and use as shepherds pie or spag bog or cook and freeze for another time.

Beef and tomato casserole cooked in a slow cooker.
Into the slow cooker-@500g diced beef/stewing steak, salt, pepper, garlic powder, mild chilli powder, Italian seasoning or any mixed dried herbs, the tomatoes- chop them if they are still whole. Rinse the tomato tin out with water and add that to the mix. I don’t braise the meat beforehand so I add some gravy granules to thicken.
I can’t give you proper quantities sorry as I just chuck it all in, and add any other bits and pieces I may have like celery and carrots, or not.
Sounds awful written down but it’s full of flavour - served with rice or mash and some green veg. It freezes too.
I counted the seasoning as one ingredient so I think that’s five in total

Don't worry about the date, they will be fine for ages yet.

One of the easiest things that I use them for are pasta sauces, have just made one to make a Lasagne as son has invited himself for a meal this evening.
Simply brown a chopped onion and garlic, add minced beef and brown. Add the tomatoes (also some puree if you want), break them up then add a stock cube and season. Let it simmer until thickened to how you like it. I add fresh oregano as I have it in the garden. Can be used with any pasta.

The simplest I can think of is shakshuka for one. Empty the tomatoes into a small pan and season / flavour how you like. When warm, crack an egg into the middle and cover with a lid for a few minutes to cook the white. A slice of bread or toast and away you go. Two eggs if you want to divide it.

Tinned tomatoes are such a versatile and cheap ingredient we eat them all the time, and yes, tomatoes on toast (or bruschetta as the Italians call it!) is simple and delicious.

Tomatoes go particularly well with beef- be it steak or mince, and you can add fresh or frozen veg to make a decent sauce with some herbs and spices thrown in.

I think my advice is not to be frightened of the tinned tomatoes! They are the most forgiving ingredient whatever sort of food you add them too- even use them in a fry-up!

Where would we be without this simple, humble food that always adds something to a meal?

I'd make a spaghetti bolognese. I finely chop onion carrot and celery and sweat until softened in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add minced beef and brown it. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste and your tin of tomatoes, season to taste. Simmer until the mince is cooked to your liking. You could add a beef oxo cube but I don't find it necessary. Traditional beef ragu doesn't have herbs.

PS, I didn't mention garlic. You add it with the veg at the beginning of the recipe. I don't use garlic often as it doesn't agree with DH's digestion.

Gently fry some finely chopped onion and celery for a few minutes, add the tin of tomatoes (break up if whole ones), probably the same tinful of water, and a chicken or veg stock cube, plus black pepper and a tsp of dried Italian herbs, simmer for 45 minutes.
A lovely sauce for pasta, just add some grated cheese if you like it.

A tin of tomatoes is a must with spaghetti bol. I add red wine and have a couple of glasses when dining, and it is delicious.

I am like you, not a cook but not even I can go wrong with this meal. I always cook mushrooms so that is a tin of tomatoes mince, mushrooms, onions, and celery. Cheap, easy, nutritious and tasty.

Mary Berry's sausage casserole.
Delicious!

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sausage_and_red_pepper_15607

There is a bit of preparation, chopping, involved but once it's all done it's just a matter of simmering it and cooking a green veg to go with it.

I wouldn't worry about the date on a tin of tomatoes. It's a legal requirement but, in the context of tinned foods, is a nonsense.

I'd only be worried if the tin was 'blown', i.e was bulging. That would indicate the presence of clostridium botulinum, a bacteria which can live without air in an acid medium. It produces toxins which are highly likely to be fatal if ingested.

Tinned tomatoes don't stay long enough in our household to ever reach their 'best before' date, we use them all the time

And, 'best before' on tinned food doesn't mean that it'll poison you if you eat them after the date, it just means what it says, 'best before', still perfectly OK after it.

Honey has a 'best before' date 😁

I’m going to try your suggestion Marmin.

I use tinned toms a lot and am always running out of them. I am surprised at how they’ve shot up in price though.

At the moment my husband's favourite meal is aubergine parmigiano. For this you need to make an italian style tomato sauce, any of the recipes above will do fine. Sometimes I use fresh tomatoes and sometimes tinned. I zap the "sauce" roughly with a stick blender. Then I slice an aubergine into roughly 1cm slices, brush both sides with oil and either fry or bake until soft, 15 or 20 minutes. I then put some tomato sauce in the base of a baking dish, add a layer of sliced aubergine, some ricotta or mascarpone cheese and some parmesan. Another layer of tomato sauce, aubergine and ricotta or mascarpone. You can then add mozzarella, if you like, (I don't as my husband doesn't like it), and more parmesan and a good sprinkle of breadcrumbs. It can be assembled in advance. When you're ready, put in the oven for half an hour until bubbling. Wonderful with garlic bread and salad.

Baked cod, using the tomatoes as a base sauce. First in a pan fry off an onion until golden, add garlic if liked, add mushrooms if liked, season with pepper and cook them for a few mins with the onion, add the tinned tomatoes and simmer for 10 mins to thicken the sauce a bit.
Transfer to a baking dish, add the cod, and if you like them, add a few black olives and some dried oregano or other dried herb and bake at 180 degrees for approx 20 mins until the fish is cooked through (I tend to cut the fish into large chunks, it cooks more quickly).

Serve with either plain boiled rice (the rice in a packet that you microwave for 2 minutes is a handy quick option).

I’m actually going to make this tonight for our dinner.

So ingredients are:

Tin of tomatoes
Onion (garlic, optional)
Mushrooms (optional)
Dried herb of choice, (oregano, marjoram etc)
Pepper to season
Cod

Rice, pasta or mash to serve with it.

Crossstitchfan

I love tinned tomatoes, but have to remove the skins!
I don’t really use them in a recipe, as such, except for the pasta you mention.
I make Cheese on toast, with lots of cheese, heat the tomatoes and spoon them over the top. (I don’t use all the juice. I freeze the remainder to add to a casserole another day). Mixed dried herbs sprinkled over the top gives it a kick.
I’m no cook either, so this is tasty and easy. It’s not exactly the meal recipe you wanted, I know, but it is delicious.

Sounds good!

Make a basic tomato sauce. Gently cook on a low heat an onion in a spoonful of oil, preferably olive oil but not essential. Do not let the onion brown but just become soft and transparent. Then add one chopped clove of garlic and cook a further couple of minutes, then add the tinned toms plus. salt, pepper and half a teaspoon of sugar. Simmer gently. You can then add herbs such as basil, and origano and serve with any pasta. I am serving the sauce tonight with meatballs ( bought in supermarket) which I lightly fry and then put in the oven with tomato sauce poured over, covered in foil for twenty to thirty mins. It is very tasty and easy.

I will adapt Crosstitchfan's recipe by putting bread, cheese and tin tom in a buttered pyrex dish and toasting in the oven.