SERENA’S SEMI HOMEMADE CANNED GARDEN SALSA

I loved this “experiment” in 2011 so much that now I make it by the gallons and I just use more of my veggies and tomato fruits .. I like both juicy and chunky so I hand cut half and I use the processor for the other half until I get what I want.. pictured below is how I stumbled onto making this the first time.. follow that recipe to make 4 pints.. below that I just posted pics and descriptions of salsa.. 5 gallons worth..

I call it Serena’s SEMI HOMEMADE Garden Salsa

So I wanted to can up some salsa and I didn’t have EVERYTHING I needed to make it.. but I did have some of what I needed….. SO I IMPROVISED!!!!! I brought in some things from the garden and looked around the kitchen for the rest… I had no cilantro at all BUT I still got my salsa. and it actually tasted Awesome!!!!! . here is what I used..

8 small to medium garden onions.. put in blender and pulse  a few times

PEELED Red  firm garden tomatoes … didn’t count I had maybe eight small ones

I blended the first hand ful and the rest chunked up..

1 small green bell pepper chopped and seeded

handful of green banana peppers seeded and pulsed in blender. (how hot you want your salsa depends on HOW MANY you put in your salsa)

2 Cans of Rotell, one Original, and one Mild

1 Large Clove Garlic minced

salt

pepper

dash lemon juice

1/4  cup Zesty Italian Dressing (you GET your cilantro and spices oregano ect from this, fresh cilantro is too overpowering in salsa I have found, at least for me)

1/2 cup Ortega Sauce Mild  (I keep this on hand in fridge always cause has a sweet taste too it and I put it in many things)

I also..had  about a cup of store bought chunk y salsa on hand in fridge it was almost gone so I thought i would throw it in there too hahahahha,… like I said I was experimenting cause I was just using up some of what I had from the garden and that wasn’t much.. and I really really loved it..

mix up .. taste… adjust if need it hotter add seeds of peppers, if want sweeter add a little sugar to taste..

pour into 5 pint jars.. leave plenty of head space because of the oil in the italian dressing.. at least 1 1/2 inches..

ready to eat if put in fridge.. I put one in fridge and processed the other 4 pints in my  water  bath canner just till sealed for future use. if your using a pressure canner, bring to 5 lbs pressure then shut off and let come down naturally..

TASTE IS KEY.. if you don’t like how it tastes before you can it, your not gonna like how it tastes after you can it.. make sure it is what YOU want ..

• 5 Gallons worth

I hand peeled my tomatoes instead of blanching them this time cause I usually use Roma tomatoes which hold up to it but these tomatoes I used today I didn’t wanna chance loosing all my good tasting juice from my maters..

I like my salsa with a mixture of chunky and loose so I cut up some of the bell peppers, banana peppers, , onions , ton of maters and some garlic  by hand then done the same thing only chopping those in the food processor and pulse a few times that way it is half and half..

I hate fresh cilantro in my salsa cause it overpowers everything else so so I don’t use it.. but I do use a little lemon juice,salt and pepper, italian dressing, and a little mild ortega sauce in it, 4 cans of Rotel, and believe me that really does make a huge difference..

I love it and last but not least at the end after tasting it all mixed together I decide how hot and sweet I want it.. and add a little sugar to taste..stir and taste again.. adjust with sugar or pepper seeds to make hotter or sweeter..I like a nice balance..

then fill jars, not too full though cause of the zesty italian dressing, it has oil in it so you can not fill too full.. leave an inch and a half headspace…

and put hot boiled lids on and either water bath, or process by bringing to 5 lbs pressure then shutting off.. let pressure drop naturally and then take weight off and lid and put on table