This amount fills our 12 cup food processor.

10 squeezed, meaty-type tomatoes (like Romas) that are about the size of baseballs **note below
2-4 hot peppers
2 cups sweet onions, chunked (I just kinda guess by the size of the onion)
1 cup tightly packed cilantro
1 t sea salt
3 T raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 t coarse black pepper

Layer above ingredients in the order listed into food processor. Pulse until desired texture is reached. Dump into large bowl and repeat. (We like BIG BATCHES of salsa, lol!) 🙂

We are alway taste testing while we go, so I should probably state that the above recipe is just a “base”. I’m sure we throw in a-little-more-of-this, and a-little-more-of-that, so it’s never exactly the same. 🙂

**Here’s how I prepare my tomatoes: I remove the skins & core, but leave them whole. I put one in my hands, hold it over the sink core-cut-side down, and gently squeeze the tomato so most of the seeds & water are pressed out. After 3 batches of squeezing, it is not uncommon for hands to cramp up, lol… 🙂

2 quarts tomato juice

2 quarts whole tomatoes (crushed up)

1 quart tomato sauce

4 pounds cooked ground beef

2 cups chopped green peppers

4 cups of mixed dried beans – softened* (see below)

4 t minced garlic or 8 cloves, minced

4 t sea salt

2 c chopped sweet onion

2 c chopped celery

2 T chili powder

1/4 cup evaporated cane juice (56g)

Add to pot. Heat & simmer over low heat for several hours, stirring occasionally. 🙂

Yield is about 20 servings.

*One of these days, I’ll get a post up about our dried beans.  Here’s how we “soften” them.  Take 4 cups (1 pound) of dried beans and pour them in a tall pan with water covering them by at least 2 inches.  Bring them to a rolling boil for one minute (IF YOU ARE USING STORE BOUGHT BEANS, DOUBLE THE COOKING TIME.).  Remove from heat & add lid. Let sit 1 hour. Drain/rinse. Add back to pot with water covering them by several inches.  Bring to a boil. Add lid, and simmer 20-30 minutes. (SAME AS EARLIER, IF STORE BOUGHT, DOUBLE COOK TIME.)

Since we freeze these as individual halves, we make a big batch of the filling and use however many green peppers we have to fill.  Leftover filling is great as a side or burrito filling, too!

1 pound “sausage”

2 cups chopped sweet onion

1 t garlic granules

1 pint tomato sauce

4 cups barley, cooked (5 c water + 1 cup barley + 1 t sea salt = bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cook covered about 45 minutes)

1/2 t dried thyme

1 t sea salt

1/4 t coarse pepper

Mix up above, spoon into blanched green pepper halves (place pepper pieces in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain in cold water). Place in ungreased baking dish. Cover & bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until peppers are to desired tenderness. Makes a bunch. 🙂

3 pounds ground beef

2 quarts beef broth

2 quarts water

2 quarts tomato juice

2 quarts whole tomatoes (which I usually crush up with my potato masher)

1-1/2 cups barley

4 cups chopped green peppers

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice (112g)

1/2 T molasses or sorghum

4 t sea salt

2 t coarse pepper

In 8 quart stock pot, brown beef. Drain. Add back to pot with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until barley is cooked. Tastes best after day 1. 🙂

Yields about 20 servings.