Restaurant Salsa

As I've mentioned before, I am normally not a fan of spicy food. And I have a deep-seated hatred of tomatoes. So salsa is not my thing. But if Husband could eat one thing for the rest of his life, this would be it. We always have a tub of Rojo's Restaurant Style salsa (medium) in the fridge, and we are constantly buying more. My pocket book is going to thank me now that I found something I can make on my own. Since I refused to taste-test this salsa, I was more than a little nervous that it would be a complete and utter failure, but when I took it to my good friend Molly's Christmas party, everyone raved about it.

This salsa got the stamp of approval from Husband (which is very rare, trust me), many friends and even a cute 7-year old. It is a very well blended salsa, but if you like it chunkier, then don't blend it as much! The great thing about this recipe is you can alter it easily to fit your tastes, and it saves very, very well. Maybe someday I will warm up to it, but for now, I will trust my critics.


Restaurant Style Salsa
Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Prep: 10 minutes / "cook" time: 1 hour / Serves: Approx. 12, unless you're my husband, then 4

ingredients:
1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes with juice
2 cans (10 oz. each) Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 whole jalapeno, quartered and sliced thin (seeded if you like a milder salsa)
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup cilantro (or more if you're into that sort of thing)
2 heaping teaspoons menudo mix (found with the mexican spices in your grocery store)
juice of half of a lime

directions:
put all ingredients in a large blender or food processor and pulse until it reaches the desired consistency (about 10 pulses). season to taste. cover and refridgerate for 45 minutes to an hour. this allows the flavors to mingle, get to know each other, and have delicious babies. (we noticed a substantial difference after letting it sit, so don't be hasty! the longer it sits, the better it will taste.)


* please note: this recipe yields a little more than 1.5 quarts. use a large blender or 12-cup food processor, or blend it in batches and mix together in a large bowl.