Homemade Salsa

This better than store bought homemade salsa is beyond tasty and a great way to use those garden vegetables.

All the vegetables in this salsa I grew. The tomatoes were from last year and everything else was from this year. There is something about being able to cook something from items you grew that ends up tasting way better than anything store bought. It’s very empowering and rewarding. The extra effort it tastes is so worth the outcome!

Freezing tomatoes whole is the best for cutting down the prep work for making this salsa. When they unthaw the skins just peel right off. No more blanching! I used five-quart sized bags full of large tomatoes for this recipe. Each bag made one cup of chopped tomatoes.

You could water bath can these if you want them shelf stable instead of in the refrigerator. Make sure if you do that though you follow proper canning instructions, so they are safe to consume. This recipe makes 2.5 pints of salsa. You could easily double or triple the recipe if you would like.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes
• Bell Peppers
• Onion
• Jalapenos
• Garlic
• Salt
• Vinegar
• Sugar

Instructions

• Unthaw the tomatoes.
• Dice up your bell peppers and add them to the stock pot.

• Remove the seeds and stem from the jalapenos, then dice finely. Add to the stock pot.

• Dice the onion. Add to the stock pot.

• Once tomatoes are unthawed, peel, core and dice them. Add to the stock pot.

• Add in the vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt. Stir all together until well mixed.

• Bring salsa up to a boil, once boiling, turn temperature down so it continues to simmer. Cook like this for 75 minutes.

• Once finished cooking, pour the salsa into your jars. Put the lids on them and let them rest on the counter until cooled. Then refrigerate.