Cooking Budget homemade salsa?

[grumpeeduck]

Anyone have a quick and easy recipe?
How long does it keep?
And is it truly budget over store bought?

 

[Colleen27]

It has been my experience that fresh salsa is only chaper than store bought if you're making it while tomatoes & peppers are in season. Otherwise, the tomatoes alone can cost more than a jar of store bought.

As far as a recipe, I'm afraid I can't be much help because I haven't used one for basic salsa in many years. I just dice a bunch of tomatoes, some peppers (more if they're mild, fewer if they're hot), onion and cilantro, toss in some lime juice and salt. I sample the mixture fresh before cooking to make sure I've got the heat/flavor balance just right. Then I heat it to a boil, simmer for a few minutes, cool and package. Sometimes I can the extra, sometimes I freeze it, but what's left in the fridge is never there long enough to find out how long it could keep.

 

[pixiewings71]

My recipe is basically the same as Colleen's, but I don't cook mine at all, just dice everything and mix it to taste and serve it cold. Mine doesn't last either so I don't know how long it would keep.

 

[Crystal0608]

I drop a few tomatoes in boiling water for a couple minutes til its cooked some, pop the skins off, cool, and dice. Add chopped cilantro, minced garlic, and a couple twists of sea salt to taste. You could add minced onion or pepper, I omit them. Tastes better if it sits a while in the fridge. I've kept mine maybe 2-1/2 days and it still tasted good.

 

[grumpeeduck]

Great recipes! Thanks, ya'll!

 

[disneyhand]

Simple Salsa

Canned diced tomatoes
Canned chopped jalapeno
fresh cilantro leaves
garlic (fresh or powder)
salt
pepper

Throw it all in the blender. I never measure, it's all to taste. Add or subtract to get the right balance for you. I started making this combo years ago, after trying a friends. It was great for us because my kids never liked chunky salsa. I only use a little bit of cilantro for flavor and color, since I don't like when it overpowers the other flavors. Go easy on the jalapeno, till you get a feel for the recipe. Start w/ half a teaspoon maybe. The salsa seems to taste hotter the next day. I generally only keep it for about a week in the frig.

other options
lime juice
diced black olives (drained) stir this in after you blend the other ingredients

 

[MazdaUK]

I just buy extra if its on special offer

 

[WalkingintheFog]

This is the homemade salsa I swear by!

1 clove garlic*
3 green onions
dash sugar
2 t dried cilantro
1/2 t cumin*
1/2 t crushed chili pepper*
26 oz tin of tomatoes, drained (save the liquid for soups, or whatever... freeze if you're not ready to make something else in the next day or so)

Throw all but the tomatoes in the food processor and process,
Then add the drained tomatoes, and process briefly to get the consistancy you want.
If too liquidy, drain some out (add to the tomato juice you're saving for that soup or meatloaf or whatever!)
Let it sit a few hours to develop the flavours.


* * * * * * * * * * *
It can last 2 wks or so in cold fridge, and I've frozen it as well (to use in cooked recipes later).

Great for dipping, but I also often use in in place of water/milk in omelets (Wow!), even in place of milk/butter/sour cream in mashed potatoes, or in meatloaf, hamburger patties, dang I'm hungry now....

I stock up on whatever tin tomatoes are the cheapest, and find this is cheaper than commercial salsa, and so much tastier.
* You can modify these amounts to make hotter/milder/garlicky-er, etc.

 

[Imzadi]

I drop a few tomatoes in boiling water for a couple minutes til its cooked some, pop the skins off, cool, and dice. Add chopped cilantro, minced garlic, and a couple twists of sea salt to taste. You could add minced onion or pepper, I omit them. Tastes better if it sits a while in the fridge. I've kept mine maybe 2-1/2 days and it still tasted good.

Thanks! This recipes should work out great for me. I want the chunky salsa like they have in real Mexican restaurants. I have yet to see a good chunky store-bought, jarred salsa. They are all pretty much purees.

I'm also allergic to raw tomatoes, so your idea of cooking them for a couple minutes should work for me, and I hate peppers.