Homemade Salsa

This recipe came from my Granny, literally, she told me over the phone and I have it scribbled down on a scrap piece of paper, but I haven’t misplaced it because it is the best homemade cooked salsa I have ever eaten.  Trust me, that’s saying something.  I live in Texas and eat Mexican food at least once a week, seriously I know my salsa.  A great thing about this recipe is use what you have, if you like Anaheim peppers or bananas peppers go ahead use them, tweak it to your liking.  Chunky, smooth, Hot, Mild,  it’s your salsa, have fun with it.  This recipe makes about 4-5 quart jars and even still they never seem to last longer than a few weeks in our household. So you can easily skip the canning part and just stick them straight in the fridge to use within a month.

All the fresh veggies in this recipe (except for the onions) are courtesy of hubby DT and his wonderful veggie garden.  This recipe is excellent with garden veggies or store bought none the less, and its super simple to make.

Ingredients: 3 quarts tomatoes (fresh or canned), 3 cups onions, 3 cups bell peppers, 1/2 cup banana peppers (optional), 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, 3 T canning salt (regular salt is fine), 3-4 jalapenos (or more if you like it extra spicy)

Chop your tomatoes to your preference if you, I like a chunky salsa so I chopped them pretty big, if not chop into small pieces

I am using a couple of different varieties of tomatoes we planted this year, we have the standard celebrity medium sized delicious red tomatoes, lemon boy the ripe yellow tomatoes, and my new favorites the yellow pear tomatoes, see those little cute pear shaped tomatoes?  Aren’t they cute?  That, and they are sweet as can be.

Add all the chopped tomatoes to a large stock pot

Dice onions and add to pot

Then dice your bell peppers, start by cutting the top off

Then pop the stem and seeds out and discard.

then cut the pepper in half, and then in julienne strips

and then again cross way dice.

Next cut the tops off of the banana peppers and dice the same as bell peppers

*these are optional, but delicious.

add the peppers to the stock pot

Next up the jalapenos.

If you have sensitive fingers like me, always wear gloves, though oddly enough, I always forget to wear gloves and inevitably touch my eyes hours later and they still burn.

*with gloves on

Cut the tops off the jalapenos and cut lengthwise.

Then scrape the seeds and white membrane out with a spoon

*note no gloves, trust me I paid for this later.

Then stack the two pieces on top of each other

and julienne

then dice and add to the pot.

Then add 1/4 cup sugar

and 1/3 cup vinegar

and 3 T salt

Stir well and set to medium high heat

Stir every few minutes

Turn off once onions are translucent, and peppers are a dull green, about 15-20 minutes

Also taste a few of the onions and bell peppers to make sure they are completely cooked and al dente.

If you like a smoother salsa, use a stick blender.

It smells so good while its cooking just try to refrain from eating it while its still hot, I know we can’t.

Serve with Chips, or on your favorite dish. Enjoy!

Print This Recipe

Homemade Salsa

3 quarts tomatoes (canned diced tomatoes is fine)

3 cups onions

3 cups bell peppers

1/2 cup banana peppers

1/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

3 T canning salt (regular salt is fine)

3-4 jalapenos (or more if you like it extra spicy)

Chop all veggies in size preference, smaller for smoother salsa, larger for chunkier salsa.  Cook on medium high heat for 15-20 minutes until veggies are soft and peppers are a dull green.  Either save in fridge for eating within 2 weeks or process in quart jars in a water bath for 5-10 minutes until jars are sealed and will be shelf stable.

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Tagged as: appetizer, Cooking, food