Canning Salsa

I've been able to bottle about 24 quarts of stewed tomatoes. I decided this year I would try making salsa again. I've tried in the past, but I've never liked the results very well. I asked Connie for her salsa recipe last year and decided to give it a try. The results were great! I love this recipe much more than any I've tried in the past. Thanks Connie, this recipe is a keeper!

From Connie: Here is the recipe I've used for years. The beauty of salsa is, it turns out differently every time! I guess it depends on the tomatoes or how hot the jalapenos are...who knows. We found this recipe from a friend and my daughter loved it. Said it seemed more like Mexican salsa.

9 cups diced tomatoes, peeled
4 cups chopped onions
8 jalapeno peppers, chopped, no seeds
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 7oz. jar diced green chili peppers
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vinegar.

Mix all ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes to 3 hours. It all depends on how thick you want it.
Put in jars and process in water bath for 35 minutes.

You can double or triple this recipe. I don't always put the full 8 jalapenos in it, it seems too hot but some people really like hot. My friend said that she has a secret to making it thicker. She takes half of the hot salsa and blends it in a blender then pours it back into the pot. I've tried it and it works fine. Just be careful of the heat!

Sondra: I only had about 4 cups of diced tomatoes (peeled). I did one large onion - which was about 1 1/2 cups. 2 jalapeno peppers and 1 large anaheim pepper. 3 clove garlic, 1/2 jar chili peppers, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/8 cup lemon and vinegar... basically half of the recipe. I'm also a mild girl - that is why I didn' put 4 jalapenos in the recipe. I thought it tasted like mild store bought salsa - Yum!

I bottled the salsa in 1/2 pint jars and processed them in a water bath for 20 minutes.