Can Do Attitude: Easy Garden Salsa

 Yeah, all of those tomatoes are fresh out of my garden.  Everything else, not so much, but these ingredients made a double batch of salsa, so 16 and 3/4 quart jars.

Also, I only used one head of garlic, and one of those really large onions.
And yes, I did use all those peppers.  I wanted a nice variety of spice, so there are random hot red peppers and purple bells from my garden, Anaheims, poblanos, jalapenos, whites, and yellow bells.  You can use as much or as little as you'd want.  I love chunky salsas with lots of pepper.

As far as the tomatoes go, I just divided my crop in half (since I was doubling the recipe).  They're Roma tomatoes, so I seeded most of them, but there wasn't a lot to worry about.

For each batch, I diced half in bigger chunks, then used my slap chop to finely dice the other half.  The chopper also made quick work of the onions and peppers.  I still wore gloves, though, because that juice gets everywhere and I hate accidentally getting it in my eyes (or worse) when cleaning up.

So, the ingredients for one batch (about 6-8 quarts)
8 C tomatoes; chopped, diced, and drained
2 1/2 C onions, diced
1 1/2 C green peppers, diced
1 C jalapeno, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground pepper
1/8 C (or less) canning salt (optional)
1/3 C sugar
1/3 C vinegar
15 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz can tomato paste

Directions:
Mix everything together in a large pot.
Bring to a slow boil.
Boil for ten minutes.

Follow proper canning procedures.  Sterilized jars, boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Let cool and wait at least 24 hours before storing.

Hint: to prevent the white grit from collecting on your tops, add about 1/2 C of white vinegar to your water bath.  It helps reduce/eliminate the residue.  ( I obviously forgot this step!)

Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta

 Here's an amazingly quick pasta for a week night.  It's a creamy sausage and tomato recipe.  I had most of the ingredients in the house, although I did have to get the sausage (which Thomas made as I was putting everything else together).

Mix the sauce ingredients together, and simmer for the pasta cooking time, if you'd like a thicker sauce.

 Mix your sauce in with your pasta and toss in the cooked and sliced Italian sausage.

I added about one half cup of Parmesan shreds to the top of the pasta before serving.  It helps to thicken the sauce just a bit.

Thomas liked this recipe since it wasn't overtly tomato based, and it wasn't so saucy that you missed the flavors in the pasta.  Fair play.  I'll definitely make this one again!

*Healthy* Stuffed Pepper Soup

Thank you, Pinterest, for introducing me to Skinnytaste!  This blogger has all kinds of healthy recipes, and most of them are feasible with limited ingredients so you really feel like a master chef while trying to keep yourself fed!

Amazing!!

Well, in any case, everyone seems to be pinning this recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup.  I couldn't resist trying it since I love stuffed peppers, but hate making them!

Ingredients - I tweaked them a little...

1 lb ground beef
2 small green bell peppers (chopped)
1 lg red and 1 lg yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1 cup finely diced onion
2-3 garlic cloves (diced/pressed)
2 (14.5 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
2 (8oz) cans of tomato sauce
1 box (32 oz) of low sodium chicken broth
Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste
3 cups of cooked rice (Jasmine for me, but there are healthier options, of course.  Almost used Quinoa...  almost!)

Desilu (left) and Schatzi (right) love when I work with bell peppers.  I always give them some of the oddly shaped dices since I don't like how odd they look. I know I'm weird, but the dogs definitely love the benefits of my cooking!

Basically, you brown the meat, add the onions, and garlic.  Then add in your peppers and cook it up until everything looks done (browned meat, al dente peppers, clear onions...).

 Add your sauce, tomatoes, broth and seasonings.

Let the soup simmer for at least 30 minutes.  I added a lot of broth because I added lots of peppers and probably a little more than a pound of meat.

I'm not a broth person, so I love condensing the soup down as much as possible.

I cooked the rice while simmering the soup.

You don't need the rice, but if you're like me and like a heartier soup, then it definitely helps.  I just served up the soup, added a heaping spoonful of rice, and stirred it up.

Also, as a side note, I barely salted the soup because I knew I was salting the rice water and didn't want to double dip on the saltiness.  I'm not much of a salt person, but it's healthier that way, anyway!

One bowl is enough!  This soup is so delicious, you'll be tempted for more, but it's filling, so it's all good!