Tomatoes Make Salsa!!

My lug of tomatoes were getting very ripe, so Wednesday after summer school I started making salsa.

I use the chunky Salsa recipe out of this cookbook. I puree my tomatoes, so mine isn't technically chunky. I had some technical difficulties. The never been used Kitchen Aide Food Processor we got as a wedding gift didn't work! I tried everything! Good thing someone bought me this mini hand food processor at my Pampered Chef Shower. I didn't think I would use it very much, but It's great for making pico for taco night and sauces.

All of the ingredients. For every seven pounds of tomatoes (I made two batches) you need…
10    Anaheim or Poblano peppers (These peppers were big, so I used three of each kind.)
3      Jalapeño peppers
2      cups onion
1/2   cup Cilantro
1/2   cup vinegar
5      gloves garlic
1T.  sugar
1t.   salt (I usually add a little more.)
1t.   pepper

I used the mini food processor to chop everything! The tomatoes were first. You put them into a large pot and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat and let them simmer for 45 minutes. Make sure you stir frequently.

While that simmered, I chopped the rest of the vegetables and set them aside in a bowl.

Once you add the other ingredients to the tomatoes, bring it back to a boil and remove from the heat.

When canning you need hot sterilized jars and jar lids. I usually rum mine through the dishwasher and let them simmer in the water bath until I need them. I keep a small sauce pan simmering for the lids and bands.

Ladle hot liquid into the jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims before putting on the lids. (I need to buy a canning funnel so that the rims of the jars don't get messy.) Place in water bath and process for 35 minutes. The water must be boiling for 35 minutes, so don't start the timer until you have a nice boil.

The recipe says you get 4 pints per bath, but I got about 7 pints. I think it's because I don't make it chunky style and drain all the juice.

I've varied the recipe and have used bell peppers instead of Poblano and Anaheim. You can also vary the amount of Jalapeño peppers depending on how hot you like it. If you do like it spicy you can always leave the ribs and seed of the pepper. That's where the heat is.