Now, before we start, let me explain something.  I made this recipe the first time without some of the ingredients (I’m not telling you which ones but you can probably guess.) and the kids didn’t care much for it.  In fact, they said it wasn’t right.  So I added a couple of things to it and they’ve loved it ever since.  So I’m just going to put the recipe down the way I make it.  I’m going to figure that anyone who reads this knows how to scald tomatoes to take the peel off, so I’m not going into that.

Ingredients

5 pounds ripe tomatoes (approximately 8 cups)

3 cups chopped onions

1 cup seeded and chopped chili peppers (We use jalapeno.)

1/2 cup green peppers (I’ve used banana pepper instead.)

1 cup cider vinegar (labeled 5% acidity)

3 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 can tomato paste

1 can large can tomato sauce

Directions

After peeling, core and chop tomatoes.  In a 6 to 8 quart saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or to desired thickness.  I cook mine down quite a bit because we like a thicker salsa.  Immediately fill hot pint jars with salsa, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.  Carefully run a nonmetallic down inside of jar to remove trapped air bubbles.  Wipe jar tops and threads clean.  Place hot lids on jars and screw bands on firmly.  Process in Boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

It’s supposed to give you 6 pints but that may vary if you cook it down as much as I do.  Stores well and is very pretty in the jar.