Monday, September 1, 2014

Happy Labor Day Every One

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.  source: US Department of Labor

I got up early this morning and then Frank and I got a run/walk in.  We did Day 1 of the C25K.  This is all part of my Quest for Fitness.  When we got home, Frank made breakfast, Bacon and Pancakes ( I know, I know, but hey I am not going to dissuade him from cooking when he feels like it! And it is all about portion control anyway) while I straightened up the house and got ready for our company this afternoon.


I also spent some time making and canning Salsa.  I love making salsa, it is so much better than what you get from the grocery shelf and you know exactly what is in it.  I adapted my recipe from the Ball Blue Book of Canning.  It is a great canning tool!!






Remove the stems from the tomatoes.
Slice an X on the bottom.
Place them in boiling water for a few moments.
Remove from boiling water and plunge immediately into ice water.
The skins will slip right off.


Once the skins are removed, I quarter the tomatoes and remove the seeds.
Then I roughly chop them.


It takes about 6 lbs of tomatoes to get 10 cups.


I pulled out the peppers that I had in the fridge.
You want to end up with 5-6 cups of chopped peppers.
The heat of the salsa will be determined by the heat of the peppers used.
I used 5 jalapenos for this batch.


I ended up with 7 pints of salsa.
6 pints that I canned and one pint that I served as an appetizer tonight.


Salsa for Canning


10 c. chopped, seeded, peeled and cored tomatoes

5-6 c. chopped and seeded, asst peppers, at least 5 of which are jalapenos (the types and amounts of each type of pepper will determine your heat)
2 large onions, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 T. chopped cilantro
3 t. kosher salt
1 1/4 c. cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Ladle hot salsa into hot jars and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.  Remove to a towel lined counter to cool. Print Recipe


We had a wonderful visit with everyone today.   Kurt and Kim brought both of their Moms and Mom Klik was here as well.  We relaxed in the pool, we had a wonderful dinner and the skies opened up and the rains came pouring down.  I am so glad that it waited until we were all done outside.


Homemade salsa is a snap to make and much less expensive than buying it premade.  I am sharing this recipe at Thrifty Thursday, stop by to find more money saving recipes and ideas.

One year ago today: Pears, Pigs and the Popps


6 comments:

  1. That salsa looks wonderful. Richard and I made salsa one summer when we had way too many tomatoes. We froze ours. It was HOT!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I have to be careful not to make mine too hot . Frank is ultra sensitive to spicy and hot foods...I love them though.

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  2. I made a quick fresh salsa this Labor Day Weekend, too. Delish!

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  3. We have a dilemma in our home - I like chunky salsa and my husband and kids like the smoother kind. So I am constantly making pico to toss into our salsa so it's the way I like it! This looks great! Bless you for seeding tomatoes!

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    Replies
    1. We like our salsa anyway, chunky, smooth, thick, thin...Frank just doesn't like it to hot.

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