My Family Salsa Recipe #foodbloggers4tx

I've been making salsa since my young teens. It was taught to me by my dad who modified his mother's salsa recipe, and over the years I've adapted it to my own taste.

Ever since the start of RCH, I have been begged for that recipe by people who've tasted it -  it is always a part of the spread when we have people over and makes a regular appearance at potlucks we attend.

I have held it close and and was unwilling to give it up - it's not that it's complicated. But it's a part of my family history, and my signature specialty.

But, here we are four years into this blog, and I've found a couple reasons why it's the right time to share this.

First of all, our readers mean as much to me as this recipe does, so why not share this with you?

Secondly, after Hurricane Harvey struck Houston, a few bloggers got together and decided to collaborate with recipes inspired by Texas and to highlight a few ways readers might be able to help.

Since then, of course, the country's also been hit by Irma and more may be coming.  Today, we'll focus on Houston because they are now at the point of needing to handle the aftermath rather than search and rescue efforts.

The best way to help is to donate blood and / or money.  It can cause a lot of complications to send new or used things to an area struck with a massive emergency like this.  Delivery, storage, and distribution can all make an complex situation impossible.

So - donate your money either to the Red Cross or local Houston organizations that are already in the area, and donate blood to replenish that which was used during an emergency.

American Red Cross - Hurricane Harvey
UNICEF - Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
Samaritan's Purse
Houston Food Bank
Food Bank of Corpus Christi
Texas Diaper Bank
The United Way of Greater Houston
The Montrose Center - LGBTQ Disaster Fund
Houston Humane Society

I also suggest that if you're considering adding a pet to your household, now might be a good time to do so, via your local shelter! Many rescue groups around the country have taken in displaced pets from Houston, which means they need the room.

So - back to this salsa!  While I'm not from Texas, a good table salsa is a daily condiment in many households across the southwest.

Jackie's Signature Salsa
Makes: Never enough

Ingredients 
2 cans of original Rotel
1 can of diced green chiles
A few forkfuls of jarred jalepenos
2 cloves of fresh garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

If you have a decent blender, you can throw the garlic and jalapenos in to chop, or do so by hand first. I use my Ninja, and sometimes add a little liquid from the canned tomatoes so they don’t stick to the sides.

Add both cans of Rotel tomatoes (along with all the remaining juice) to the blender, and puree to chunky preference. I only run it for a few seconds, as I like it with a bit of texture still.

Add can of green chilis and cilantro and turn on blender just long enough to BLEND.

THAT’S IT! Super simple and super tasty!

Now, you can take this and make it your own.

The amount of jalapenos is completely up to how spicy you want your salsa. You can also replace the jarred jalapenos with diced fresh jalapenos or switch out for a hotter variety of Rotel.

I rotate between fresh garlic/jarred minced garlic/ and even garlic powder if that’s what I have on hand, and I will also use dry cilantro more often than fresh (because fresh is not always easy to come by where I live), and it still tastes fantastic.

Salsa has so many uses. Eat with tortilla chips, put it on your tacos, make salsa chicken, spice up your eggs in the morning…the possibilities are endless. We always have a batch in our fridge.

Check out the other bloggers posting Texas-themed recipes in support of Texas and those impacted by Hurricane Harvey:

An InLinkz Link-up