Add some homemade salsa to everything – Shelly’s Friday Favourites

I’m a spicy food fan, but because I cook with the kids in mind, I can’t serve as many spicy dishes as I’d like to. I’d take the time to cook a good old southern blackened catfish, and if I could coax them to try it, they’d spend the meal guzzling water and screaming. That’s not exactly my idea of a relaxing dinner, so bland it is.

When I can, I head out to restaurants to get my spicy food fix, but more often than not the craving will hit when I’m at home. So what’s a girl to do when she wants fiery food but she’s got the same old, same old in front of her? Add some salsa of course.

I’m not talking any old canned salsa either. I’m sure I’ve tried every type of salsa the supermarket has on offer, from fresh in the deli department to mango salsa imported from Texas. It’s all good, but my favourite is fresh, chunky salsa that tastes like it just came out of the garden and has an entire jalapeno pepper to give it some zest. You can’t get that in a jar, so I make it with the very things I grow in my backyard.

There’s a bumper crop of tomatoes out there right now, and they’re just begging to be chopped up into salsa. Check out my recipe, make your own homemade salsa, and add it to BBQ chicken or fish, plain rice, and anything that needs to be spiced up. A good rule of thumb is to take a look at what you’re about to eat and ask yourself, “Would salsa be good with this?” The answer is always yes, yes it would.

Homemade Chunky Salsa

Homemade salsa is one of the easist things you can make. The most time consuming part of the process is chopping, then you just mix it up and put it in a mason jar until you’re ready to serve.

Step One: Gather your ingredients.

Step Two: Chop!

I let my kids help me chop up the tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, so my tomatoes always turn out a bit on the chunky side. The next time I make salsa I’ll try the proper method for chopping tomatoes. Check out the how to video below.

Step Three: Stir!

I use fresh lime juice made with my juicer, then I add everything together and stir.

Step Four: Serve!

This recipe is ready to eat right after you mix it up, so serve it immediately in a pretty bowl with tortilla chips.

If you leave it in a mason jar overnight or for a few days, you’ll find the flavors will really come to life. I’ve tried it a few times and find it’s spiciest after a week in the fridge.

This recipe will make two mason jars of salsa.

Homemade salsa is the one thing I can rely on to spice up every meal, so I like to make a huge batch of it and keep as much as I can for winter.

If you have a favorite salsa recipe, please share, and don’t forget to check out all of the great serving dishes you can use to serve your homemade salsa to a crowd.

Make your own lime juice for salsa with a juicer

Sealed mason jars stay fresh longer when you seal them with the FoodSaver Vacuum

Did you see last week’s Back To School Lunch Box Ideas?