Sometimes I’ve had cravings for chips and salsa and my friends aren’t available to go to a nearby Mexican restaurant so I’m forced to buy salsa from my local grocery store. I’m always disappointed with how they taste and am left feeling unsatisfied. I have yet to find a store-bought salsa that knocks my socks off so I have been experimenting and making my own salsa lately. I endeavor to make the best salsa ever. I am definitely on the right track with my Easy Blender Salsa. This salsa has a smokey flavor but it’s not overpowering and only takes 10-15 minutes to make depending on how quick you are at chopping up the ingredients. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser. I know this because I just served it at a small gathering and it was a hit. Woo hoo!! Give my Easy Blender Salsa a try. You’re going to love it!
My recipe for Easy Blender Salsa has most of the common ingredients you would find in any restaurant style salsa with a couple added special ingredients that makes the flavor really pop; fire-roasted tomatoes and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. YUM! For the sake of convenience, I used canned fire-roasted tomatoes. You can definitely roast your own tomatoes for this recipe if you have the time and inclination to do so.
If you want to use fresh tomatoes, I would use Roma tomatoes for this recipe. One 14 1/2-ounce can of tomatoes equals about one pound of fresh tomatoes. This recipe calls for two 14 1/2-ounce cans of roasted tomatoes so use two pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes. To fire-roast, cut the Roma tomatoes in half, place them skin side up on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Grill or broil the tomatoes for 6 – 8 minutes or until the skin begins to blacken or char. Use these blackened Roma tomatoes (skins and all) in place of the canned fire-roasted tomatoes.
I also used canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I actually had some of these little babies left from my GAME DAY CHILI recipe and was wondering how I was going to use them. I blended a few into my salsa and WOW what a difference it made. My salsa suddenly came alive! The smokiness of the chipotles really melded well with the other ingredients and added a depth to the salsa that it didn’t have before. If you want your salsa to be even smokier add another chipotle in adobo sauce.
This salsa is delicious with tortilla chips and also with eggs for breakfast in the morning. I didn’t make a complete huevos rancheros recipe, although I’m sure it would’ve tasted great. I just fried up some eggs and topped them with Easy Blender Salsa for a morning delight.
EASY BLENDER SALSA
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14 1/2-ounce) fire-roasted tomatoes
- 4 cloves of garlic , peeled and chopped
- 1 can (4-ounce) diced green chilies
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves)
- 1/2 medium white onion , chopped
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce from can of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper , stemmed, seeded and chopped (For hotter salsa, don’t seed the jalapeno or use two of them. For less heat, use only 1/2 medium jalapeno.)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend all ingredients until smooth and no visible chunks are remaining, about 2 minutes. NOTE: Be careful not to touch your eyes while handling the jalapeno for at least the rest of the day or use latex gloves while chopping. After I chopped the jalapeno without gloves, I thoroughly washed my hands. It still stung a bit when I rubbed my eye a couple hours later.
- Transfer salsa to a bowl and scoop up with your favorite chips!