My goal this year was two-fold:

1. Grow enough veggies to make my own salsa
2. Find a salsa recipe that my family likes more than or equal to Pace Picante 

I am happy to report success in both areas! Here is the salsa recipe I found/altered:

• 24 pounds tomatoes (equals about 34 cups cored, skinned, and quartered)
• 2 pounds green peppers (equals about 4 cups seeded, chopped)
• 12 ounces hot peppers (equals about 1 cup seeded, chopped)
• 2 pounds onions (4 whole onions)
• 3 TBS tobasco/hot sauce
• 2 2/3 cups vinegar
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 TBS chili powder
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 TBS oregano

Blanch, peel, core, and quarter tomatoes. Let sit overnight. The next day, drain the tomato juice off (and can it!). Seed and dice green and hot peppers (use gloves). Sit overnight and drain, discard liquid. Chop onions. Sit overnight and drain, discard liquid.

Combine everything in a stock pot. Cook for 3-4 hours. The longer it cooks, the spicier it will be. Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Process 45 minutes in a water bath canner (this is for 4000-6000 feet elevation, adjust).

p.s. I called this my “winning” recipe because it won my family over. No official awards to report.

Filed under: Onions, Peppers, Recipes, Tomatoes