Salsa

This is a basic salsa recipe I got from a friend at work. She always brought Salsa to our office parties that was so yummy!! This makes about 9 pints. You can mix up the chili's if you want depending on how hot or mild you like your salsa. Sometimes I even add 2 or 3 canned chipotles with  sauce  to add a smoky flavor to it. And you can use fresh chilis if you want instead of canned, just remember to take the seeds out. I use about 5 green chilie's and about 4 or 5 serranos or jalapenos or more, add a few, taste and if you like it hotter add more. Great in tacos, or just plain with chips! Yum!!!

Basic Salsa

12 cups tomatoes, diced (3 quarts)
4 cups diced onion
2 cups diced green or red bell pepper (a mixture is good)
2 or 3 4-oz cans  chopped green chilies
3 or 4  4-oz cans chopped jalepeno peppers,(drained with juice reserved)
1/2 a garlic bulb (minced) I used 2 heaping Tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons sugar
5 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup pepper juice with white vinegar added to make 3/4 cup
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (which ever you prefer)
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried cilantro or 1/2 a bunch fresh that has been chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
may add 3 canned chipotle peppers with adobo sauce if desired (just 3 peppers, not 3 cans of them)

I chop my tomatoes first in a food processor, however chunky you like, put these in a large soup pot. Then I chop the onions, then the bell peppers. Then if using fresh chili's I chop those with the garlic and fresh cilantro pretty fine.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the soup pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn down and simmer for an hour.

Spoon salsa into pint jars, this batch usually does 9 pints, might have just a bit leftover that you can eat right now.
Process in a hot water bath for 25 minutes.
Enjoy!