Homemade Salsa...

When Jonathan and I were dating, I would go to his parents' house and hope and pray that there would be chips and salsa, because a) it's pretty much my favorite snack and b) his mom's homemade salsa was really good. (I was, however, dismayed at the tiny "salsa dish" that he would give me to eat out of, since at the Baines house we used cereal bowls. I wasn't sure what to do with the itsy-bitsy serving size, other than refill it many times. That's still a joke of ours, though... the "petri dish"-sized bowls at their house.)

Moving on... I have since made this salsa many, many times (with great success, making it a winner in my book!) and I think I may have posted the recipe before but I couldn't remember, and when I made some last night I thought about posting it again. Then Janssen, Merrick, and Landen chose a "real food" topic for their Sisters Share It All series/linkup, so I was inspired to go ahead and post/repost. This isn't a "meal", per se, but give me a big bowl of this stuff and a bag of tortilla chips and I don't need anything else. 

Homemade Salsa

1 cup onion, finely chopped (you can make the pieces bigger if you like it chunky)
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
2 cans Rotel (I use mild or original, but you can get the hot kind if you like it hot... I don't)
1/8 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp each)
I also throw in some garlic salt or even fresh garlic, but that is up to you!

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate (you can eat it right away, but it tastes better after all the flavors have mixed for a few hours.) Serve with tortilla chips and inhale like a ravenous beggar eat them slowly, savoring the flavor. (Ha) I know Rotel is sort of cheating, but you could use fresh tomatoes and chiles if you really wanted to. I just happen to be the lazy sort.

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Nom nom nom!

This is great to dip quesadillas into, or to stir (a couple of tablespoons) into pasta sauce for a little zing. I love putting it into glass jars to give as gifts. Who doesn't love salsa?

 It would be a super easy Christmas present... maybe a basket with a jar of salsa and a couple of bags of "fancy" chips (aka not the $2 kind I buy)? Add a cute bow and you're done! Just make sure you do a double batch, because if you "taste" the batch for your gift there may not be any left. So do enough for the other person, and yourself. Tis the season for giving, after all! =) 

Happy eating!


Ash