The first thing I did was get my dehydrator out and clean it (basically, just dusted it off and wiped down the trays).
I sorted through the tomatoes, to make sure that I had good plump solid tomatoes to use. These are salsa tomatoes that I purchased from one of my co-workers.
Next, I washed the tomatoes.
Blogger note: I tried dehydrating the tomatoes two ways. The first one was to boil the tomatoes for 1 to 2 minutes until the skins broke, dip them in cold water and then remove the skins and seeds. I did one batch of tomatoes this way, but when I did the second batch with the skins on and the seeds in, it worked just as well. Therefore, of the three batches I did, I only did one batch without the skin and seeds. It made it so much easier for me. If you want your tomato powder to be of fine consistency, however, you will want to de-seed your tomatoes.
Next, I sliced the tomatoes, about the size you would cut for it to go on a sandwich, and lined the dehydrator with the slices. I didn't overcrowd the tomatoes, I left room between each slice.
I then set my dehydrator on 135 degrees and set my timer for 10 hours. I flipped the tomatoes over half way through the process and rotated my trays.
When it was all said and done, this is what they looked like once they were dehydrated. Some of the heels (or ends) of the tomatoes were given to the chickens because they didn't dehydrate as well.
After all those tomatoes dried, they were able to fit in this quart size container.
From there, I took the tomatoes and added them to my blender to grind them up. I put half of the dehydrated tomatoes in and then added the rest once those were completely ground.
When it was all said and done, here is the end result. I added a 1/4 slice of bread on top to take any leftover moisture out of the tomatoes and to keep them fresh. You can grind your tomatoes to suit your needs.
I already added my tomato powder to a batch of spaghetti I made and it was excellent! I am extremely pleased with the outcome.
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