Grandma's Salsa

Grandma Fran's salsa recipe as she's made it for years from the vegetables grandpa grew in his garden.

Grandma’s Salsa 

4 cups peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes

2 cups chopped, seeded green or yellow mild peppers (Anaheim or Pasilla)

 1 cup chopped, seeded Jalapeños

1 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup cider vinegar

Prepare home canning jars and lids.

Combine everything in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Carefully pour hot salsa into prepared hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust caps.

Process for 30 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

Remove and cool on the counter. Make sure all the lids have popped before storing in the pantry.

Meatballs

These are really good meatballs for a sandwich. They are firm enough that they don't crumble apart but are still moist. They are also onion free, which was the initial criteria for trying them out because of a friend with an allergy, but they truly are so good you don't miss anything. 

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
5 oz frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 t dried basil
1 1/2 t dried parsley
at least 1 T chopped garlic, I used 2
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 c bread crumbs

Mix everything except the bread crumbs in a bowl using your hands. When the egg is incorporated and the herbs look evenly distributed mix in the breadcrumbs. It will look dry when compared to say a meatloaf  mixture but its ok.  Let it sit on the counter for 15 or so minutes- this will help it to roll easier.

Then, roll them to whatever size you like. I use a 1 oz ice cream scoop to get consistent size and end up with 25 meatballs.

I like to brown mine well in olive oil and then transfer them to the sauce to simmer. You can also bake them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so.