Homemade Salsa

So we LOVE salsa over here..... and we like it HOT! We also LOVE to can things. It's actually a hobby of ours and we usually can several times a year making our own applesauce, jams & jellies, apple pie filling and salsa.

We've worked on this recipe over the last few years, adjusting and changing things up until we found the flavor that we love! This recipe is for HOT salsa, however, you can easily omit the hot seasonings and replace with milder seasonings. Easy peezy.

Check out our family recipe below!  We hope you LOVE it!

Tip: You do not need to can this recipe. You can put it in tupperware containers and leave it in your fridge for up to 5 days or you can put it in freezerware containers and freeze it! It freezes up really well (we know this all too well because one year we (and I really mean my husband) :) screwed up our cooking time for canning and we had to freeze it all instead. :)

Tip: We always try to get local ingredients from our farmers market in town. Sometimes it won't be possible depending on what time of year you make it, but, if you can, buy from local farmers and help support local agriculture!

Ingredients:
14 cups tomatoes
2 cups diced onions
2 1/2 cups colored peppers (red, green, yellow - or you can use all green)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons salt
1 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/4 cup sugar
1 can rotel
1 can green chilies
3 cans tomato paste
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup jalapenos
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 packets HOT taco seasoning (you can change these out for mild packets if you want a more milder salsa

To prepare:

Since we always get tomatoes from local farms, we have to peel our tomatoes by placing them in boiling water and then using a cold water bath. It's a ton of work depending how many toms you have, but it's worth it to us so we can support our farmers. Click here to see how to remove the peels: http://dish.allrecipes.com/how-to-peel-tomatoes/

If you don't want to go through this process you can always buy canned tomatoes though.

Start chopping & dicing! All ingredients should be chopped & diced into small pieces/cubes.

Tip: If you are using fresh jalapenos, make sure to wear gloves when you remove the vines and seeds from your peppers! If not, your fingers will burn for days (do not ask me how I know this!).

Add all ingredients into large stock pot and cook on your stove until all ingredients are tender.

If you are canning, there is a specific amount of time you need to cook your ingredients depending on if you are water bathing your salsa or pressure canning it. Make sure to look up those cooking times so you are following food safety and canning standards.

If you are just making this salsa to eat immediately or to keep in your fridge, you can cook on your stove top until all ingredients are softened.

Put your salsa in containers, jars or tupperware and eat, refrigerate, freeze or give away to friends!

I hope you enjoy this salsa recipe! It's our favorite after years of trying to perfect it!  I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you end up loving it!