I had fully intended to make this salsa in the summer when I had easy access to fresh tomatoes. You know what they say about good intentions??? Well, my intention was to make it in the summer but ended up being the week before Christmas and I had to use canned, diced tomatoes instead of fresh. It still turned out well but would have been even better with fresh! This salsa would make for a great snack with your favourite tortilla chips or even crackers, or used in whatever recipe you have that calls for salsa.

Sandie

Here are all the ingredients I used to make the salsa.

I washed and chopped all the vegetables (using my food processor to save time) and added them to the pot with the canned tomatoes (draining 2 of the cans before adding them), tomato paste, ground cumin, minced garlic and vinegar.

I brought this mixture to a boil over medium high heat before lowering the temperature to medium and allowing it to simmer for about 15 minutes to thicken it.

I spooned the salsa into my prepared jars, wiped down the rims and put on the lids and rings.

I processed the jars in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. I removed them from the pan, placing them on the counter with a towel until they were fully cooled.

I wiped down the jars and applied the labels…. and now I have some nice, not TOO hot, salsa that I added to our Christmas Preserve baskets!

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Recipe
Homemade Salsa

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Processing Time: 20 minutes Servings: 12 + 125 ml jars

Ingredients

• 4 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 large red onion
• 2 green peppers
• 6 jalapeno peppers
• 5 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 cans tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups vinegar
• 2 tsp. ground cumin

Directions

1. Prepare jars and set aside.
2. Wash and chop vegetables.
3. Add vegetables, tomatoes, cumin, vinegar, tomato paste and minced garlic to large pot and mix to combine.
4. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat.
5. Lower heat to medium and allow mixture to simmer for about 15 minutes to thicken.
6. Ladle salsa into prepared jars, wiping down rims before adding lids and rings.
7. Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.
9. Wipe down jars and apply labels.
10. Store in a dark cool place.