salsa tutorial (not dancing)

Making salsa is one of those things that comes really naturally to me. Like swimming. I've always been a "fish" in water, and I don't ever remember "learning" to swim. I just knew how. I'm always like, "What do you mean you don't know HOW to swim? That makes no sense to me..." 

Same is true for making salsa. How can you NOT know how?

But people still ask -- All the time -- So, here is my salsa-making tutorial, for those of you that might need a little guidance. It's EASY, and oh so yummy!!

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Step 1: Recruit some extra-cute helpers for a touch of sweetness ;-)

Step 2: Gather your ingredients (I am purposely not quantifying for you. Just play around and use each ingredient "to taste")

*Canned Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes (this is my "secret ingredient" -- the fire roasted taste is key!)

*Canned Diced Tomatoes with Mexican ingredients added, such as green chilies

*Fresh Tomatoes (we eat our tomatoes the second they are ready, so there weren't any left on the vine for the salsa, so I skipped the fresh tomatoes this time - I don't like store-bought fresh tomatoes. They're totally flavorless)

*Green Onions (These ones were from our garden!!)

*White Onions

*Lime

*Cilantro (I get the fresh frozen cubes at Trader Joes. They are awesome!)

*Hot Peppers, such as Jalepeno or Serrano (Serranos are spicier than Jalepenos - Start off with half a pepper and add more to taste)

*Bell Peppers - Green, Red, or both! (Red is sweeter than green, so be careful with how much you add. But the red does look better in the salsa)

*Garlic Salt

*Tomatillos (this is an ingredient that my dad likes to use. I also skipped it this time. don't go overboard with these, either, because they add a little bit of a sweet flavor as well)

Step 3: Thinly dice some of the onions and bell peppers, and the fresh tomatoes and tomatillos, if you're using them. Also chop up some of the cilantro, if it is fresh. How much you chop up by hand depends on how much time you have, and how chunky you want your salsa to be.

Step 4: Have your cute helpers pour the chopped veggies into a bowl.

Step 5:  Put the rest of the onions, bell peppers, cilantro (whether fresh or frozen), and tomatillos in a food processor, along with the juice from the canned tomatoes and about half of a hot pepper (to start with). Puree. 

Step 6: Add the pureed veggies to the chopped veggies in your bowl. Have your little love squeeze some lime juice into the bowl. Shake in your garlic salt. Then, pour the rest of the contents of the canned tomatoes into the bowl.

 Step 7: Taste test. Add more ingredients, as needed. If it is too spicy, add more tomatoes. If it is not spicy enough, add more hot peppers (don't forget to puree them first!! You can add some of the salsa that you just made to the food processor with the extra hot peppers to help it puree up a little better). Mine was on the spicy side, because I started with a WHOLE jalepeno, instead of half, so I added the whole can of tomatoes with green chilies.

 

Yum, Yum!!!! Fiesta at your house tonight??

Now, salsa dancing is a whole other story! NOT natural for me! I would totally need lessons... hey, that sounds fun, actually....... Anyone?