Salsa-Not the Dance

I love salsa!  I can it almost every year because come winter, tomatoes are a little expensive and I don't like to pay for them or like the taste of an out of season tomato.  Picky, picky.  I know!  But, it's so worth it and this recipe will knock your socks off!

Get all of your ingredients together in one place. 

For this recipe, you'll need:

6-8 Roma tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled, minced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cans tomatoes with green chiles, original, mild or hot
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh preferred)
*2-3 tablespoons lime juice (fresh preferred)
2 jalapenos sliced, seeded, de-veined and minced (you can substitute any pepper)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder

*if you really love the sharp contrast of the lime against the other flavors, you can increase it!

I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant.  I loved the work, the product even more.  It might've created a Kitchen Gadget Monster in me.  That's for another blog.  I do still have a few tools left that I really love and while I'm not paid by anyone to tout their products, if they're great, I'm gonna give them a shout out!

I love, love, love the Pampered Chef Food Chopper.  I've had mine about ten years and used it for nearly everything you can imagine.  From the picture above, you can see that I really prefer my salsa as pico, but hubby prefers it minced, hence the chopper.  It's so easy to use.  Simply cut your veggies into strips or chunks, place the chopper on top and plunge away.  The blades rotate and chop creating either a rough chop or a fine mince.  The cost is nominal in comparison to the use you'll get out of it.  It's great for chopping nuts, too!

Nom. Nom. Nom.  Enough said.

So, to start, have a cutting board handy along with all of your ingredients and tools.  The musts for this are a really sharp knife, can opener (another Pampered Chef favorite), and a deep bowl.

I begin by clipping the ends from my cilantro and soaking it in a bowl of cold water to clean out any sand in the leaves.  Nobody wants that kind of crunch in their salsa!  I then start peeling my garlic and onion.  For the garlic, after breaking the head apart and getting the cloves I need, I place them in a small jar with a lid and shake them.  This removes the peels and all I have to do is chop the ends off before dicing.

The onion is another matter.  Since I'm using only half of an onion, I slice it so that the root is still intact on both pieces.  Supposedly, this is going to keep it from spraying juice everywhere (i.e. in my eyes!).  Just pull the outer skin and any damaged skin under it off and discard.  I do a rough chop, place part of that under the food chopper and proceed to mince away.

Once the cilantro has soaked and been rinsed several times, I repeat the process with it and place it in the bowl with the onions and garlic.  This is where the fun comes in.  I really want to draw the flavor out of these, so I sprinkle my salt, garlic powder and onion powder on top of them along with the lemon and lime juice.  Give it a little stir before adding the canned tomatoes with green chiles.
Now, take care of your peppers.  I used jalapenos in this one, but have been known to use Serrano or habanero peppers in their place or alongside.  It just depends on how much heat you can handle.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Next you'll want to rinse your tomatoes and dice them with the knife.  If they're really firm the food chopper will do a great job, but if not, you'll just end up with a mess on your cutting board.  Place them in the bowl with the other ingredients and stir, mixing well.  Allow to sit for 1/2 an hour or so before serving to allow flavors to marry.

Roughly chopped.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I could eat this for breakfast!

My favorite thing to eat salsa on is a burrito topped in a homemade chili sauce, melted cheese and a few lime tortillas.  I place it on my enchiladas, tacos, sandwiches, omelets, you name it!  I've even been known to put it in the blender and drink it!  

Refrigerate any leftovers (uh, yeah, like that's gonna happen).  I've also taken small amounts (1/2 cup or less) and pour into ice cube trays.  Freeze, place in a zip bag once frozen and take out when you need a little oomph added to your soup recipes!  This is a great addition to taco soup!

NOTE:  No fat, low calorie, high in flavor food that's great for you!