Thrifty Gal's Salsa

I suppose the title of this particular post is a bit misleading.

Not that bit about a being a thrifty gal, but if you are really thrifty you can pick up your salsa at the Dollar Tree or Adli's in a jar.

Who wants to do that? For one, I am allergic to the jalapeno pepper. It's a pity... 'cause I love me some jalapeno peppers. But I swell. So I have to be extra careful about any preserved spicy foods.

And (to be perfectly frank) my salsa is so much better than anything you can find in a jar. Even though it's almost all from a few cans.

I make it about once a week or so. I stick it in the fridge in one of my old Tupperware Containers (from the stone age) that I purchased at the Thrift Store for .50. I might serve it with a few supper meals, but other than that the rest of the family is encouraged to use it in whatever manner they see fit.

It's incredibly light so I try on put it on almost anything I eat. Except for my oatmeal. That would be kinda nasty.

Anyhoo. Here is the recipe. Whether you wanted it or not.

Canned tomatoes. I use one large can and one small. Or 3 small. In the summer I might use fresh tomatoes from the garden. But in the winter I am hoarding the tomatoes my parents canned from their garden like gold. The canned tomatoes from the store do me just fine for salsa.

Green Chilies. I use a small can of chopped. It does give it a little heat, but it's not as spicy as using Rotel.

Lemon Juice. Yes. That is a jar of lemon juice. Don't hate. I like using fresh lemons or limes as much as the next self-respecting foodie. But a jar of lemon juice is just so stinkin' handy.

Onion. Only about 1/4 to 1/2. Don't want it too oniony.

Garlic. I use 2 cloves. I love the garlic.

Cilantro or Parsley. I used to not like cilantro at all, but some strange things started happening when I turned 40. I started drinking coffee, I started using cilantro and I started losing weight. Either cilantro or parsley is cheap enough. I like to get one or the other every week. I like adding a little green.

Cumin. Love. The. Cumin. About 1/2 tsp. It will do ya good.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Now here it is where it gets difficult.

Dump everything in your food processor. Push go. And process the snot out of the stuff.

It will look something like this.

As I said, I like to keep mine in my fancy Tupperware.

This past weekend I put some in a few smaller containers, packed up some tortilla chips and put it all in the cooler along with granola bars, yogurt, cheese chunks and fruit for Josiah swim meet.

I'm not saying for sure, but I think one of his teammates actually placed in his heat because of this salsa.