Super Bowl Treats Part II

Many years ago, a friend and I started a weekly dining tradition. Since we never had classes together or saw each other on campus, this was our way of making sure we always got together at least once a week to catch up and plot our escape from Oklahoma (we were way too liberal). Our gatherings began when we were in college with lunches around town (our quests for post-lunch desserts was also the start of my dessert obsession, which deserves a post of its own at a later time). As we continued on into grad school and found ourselves with less free time during the day, our tradition evolved into dinner at each other's homes. We would alternate weeks with the rule that whoever was hosting/cooking got to pick the recipe for the week. I dreaded my turn to cook (this was at the beginning of me beginning to dabble in cooking and I was failing more often than not). It was almost a rule that some part of my meal would have something wrong with it. She was always a very good sport (especially since she was, and still remains, one of the best cooks I know), which definitely helped my very shaky confidence. From time to time, I would love something she made so much that I would demand the recipe on the spot and try desperately to replicate it. One such recipe was for homemade salsa. 


I'm very particular about the texture and consistency of my salsa (similar to queso, I blame my Oklahoma upbringing). This salsa recipe was everything I loved about salsa and pretty much ruined my relationship with all store bought salsas (although lets be honest, we were never that close to begin with). The best part, it's super easy and the food processor does most of the heavy lifting. 


Homemade Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 can original rotel
• 1 medium onion (I've experimented with all varieties over the years, white and yellow tend to give it a better taste)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• lime juice (to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• cilantro (to taste)

Preparation

1. Cut onion into chunks and peel garlic cloves
2. Add onion and garlic cloves to food processor first, top with diced tomatoes, rotel, and cilantro
3. Process mixture until desired consistency (I'll add here that I have a large food processor so everything can go in at once. When I started making this, I had a much smaller one and had to chop the ingredients one at a time. It works that way too, but just takes longer and the consistency doesn't always match).
4. Empty salsa into a large bowl, mix in salt, pepper, and lime juice
5. Enjoy!