The Best Canning Salsa

We have tried different salsas over the years.  Most were too sweet, or too vinegary, or too mild.
This recipe is one of a few different ones from the US Department of Agricutlure's Complete Book On Canning. It's a winner in our book!  The sweetness only depends on how sweet your tomatoes are, and the spiciness totally depends on how mature the jalapenos are.  If they are pretty spicy then you will end up with about a medium to medium hot salsa.

Ingredients:
10 cups peeled, chopped tomatoes
6 cups chopped chili/mild peppers*
4 cups chopped onions
1 cup vinegar
3 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot into pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner: 15 minutes at 0-1,000 feet altitude, 20 minutes at 1,001-6,000 feet; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.

* We used 3 1/2 cups jalapenos and 2 1/2 cups bell peppers. You can remove the seeds from the peppers to make it milder.

More info...
We like our salsa thick, so we boil it until we're happy with the consistency, which is a lot longer than 10 minutes.  Our last batch took almost 2 hours! Just remember to stir often it or it will scald.

Also, don’t change the ratio of vegetables to acid and tomatoes. You can only change the amount of salt, pepper or switch the vinegar to bottled lemon juice. I wouldn’t recommend changing the vinegar to lemon in this salsa though.

Spinach N Strawberries Salad

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It was pretty basic, but I had never made it before. And holy cow. It's a winner! Love the flavor combination here.
(It called for sliced red onions too, but I left them out since I don't care for raw onions.  Also, I added chicken nugget pieces to make it into a meal)
Also, sorry this isn't the prettiest picture. Halfway through eating the salad I decided it was blog-worthy and took a picture, hence it's all disheveled. 

Ingredients:
-Baby spinach
-Feta cheese
-Strawberries sliced
-Pecan pieces (the recipe calls for candied pecans, I just used regular pecans)
-Berry Vinaigrette Dressing

Directions:
1. It's a salad.  You just throw it all together and then devour. 

And here is the amazingly delicious strawberry vinaigrette dressing recipe, slightly modified to my liking: (the original recipe called for raspberries and poppy seeds, both of which I would love to use but didn't have on hand)

Ingredients

• 1/8 cup onion
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar (I used plain ol' white vinegar)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 strawberries
• 1 squirt of mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds 

Directions:
1. Place onion in food processor and pulse til finely chopped.
2. Add vinegar, sugar, berries, mustard, and salt.  Pulse til combined and smooth.
3. While processor is running, drizzle in the oils and the poppy seeds.
4. Enjoy!

http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2011/07/211/Spinach+Strawberry+Salad+with+Candied+Pecans%2C+Feta%2C+%26+Raspberry+Poppyseed+Dressing

Gooey Chocolate Pudding Cakes

I found this recipe in my BHG magazine, and wanted to PIN online so I wouldn't lose it. But I couldn't, because there was no picture online for it. Strange, there was a picture in the magazine.
So I made it and WOW!  So rich and so delicious!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (Nutella)
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• Coffee-flavored or vanilla ice cream (optional)
• Sliced strawberries (optional)
• Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl combine flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Stir in chocolate-hazelnut spread and chocolate pieces.

2. Divide batter evenly among six 5- to 8-oz. oven-safe bowls or ramekins. Place in a 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan. Set aside. In the same bowl for the batter, stir together 1/2 cup sugar and cocoa. Gradually stir in boiling water. Pour evenly over batter in dishes.

3. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into cake portion comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream and strawberries. Sprinkle with additional cocoa powder.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/gooey-chocolate-pudding-cakes/

Berry Syrup

Oh man, this is so good and so easy.  I have to restrain myself from just eating it straight out of the dish with a spoon. :)  We put it on waffles, german pancakes, or ice cream.  I made it without the butter once and it was still delish.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup frozen berries, thawed
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. 
2. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until thick. 
3. Mix in the berries. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.
4. Stir in the butter.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/overnight-blueberry-french-toast/detail.aspx