Making your own Salsa

Did you know that salsa vies with ketchup as America's most popular condiment? My son adores freshly made salsa. Salsa can be a little spendy at the grocery store. Depending on the brand, it's usually $3-$5 for a smallish jar.

Why not take about 5 minutes and make your own fresh salsa and save a little money, too?

You need tomatoes. I personally prefer Romas, but you can use whatever type you like. Romas are usually on sale somewhere and even when they are not, they are usually the least expensive variety. Depending on how spicy you want it, you can put a few jalapenos in your mix. I don't like spicy, so I usually stick with one jalapeno, seeded. The seeds and the white flesh are the hottest part of the pepper. So remove those if you don't want a four-alarm fire. Then just add in some chopped onions, if you like, fresh garlic, lime juice and a pinch of salt.

This is another one of those recipes where you add ingredients "until it looks good". But here's my rough recipe for it:

5-8 Roma tomatoes, chopped - you can use a knife or a food or salad chopping tool
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped - wear gloves when working with the pepper. It will the pepper oils away from your skin and prevent any stinging sensation.
1/2 C white onion, finely chopped - I don't do onion in my house, so this is definitely an estimate
2-3 cloves of garlic, freshly pressed
3 T lime juice
Pinch of salt

Here's a tip on chopping tomatoes. Whatever tool you are using, be sure you have the skin side up. You'll get cleaner chopping that way than if you try to chop through the fleshy side.

This recipe usually makes a good bowlful of salsa rather than a jar. Jalapenos are sold by weight and are usually 20 cents a piece, maybe less. White onions are large, but any extra can easily be refrigerated or frozen for later use. As for the rest of the ingredients, you'll find you may have excess that can be easily stored for later use or used to make a larger batch. The bottom line is your salsa will be nice and fresh and can be stored in a sealed container in your refrigerator for your family's enjoyment!