(First, the other 2 recipes are in my prior post...)

Here's the orignal:

"Val's Mexican Salsa"

3 Roma tomatoes
1/2 Onion
1 large clove of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
1 serrano pepper (peppers to taste)
1/4 tsp salt
handful of cilantro (to taste)
lime juice (to taste)
water (to desired consistency)

Cook tomatoes & peppers in microwave for 3 minutes. (I believed this was in water in a bowl, cover with saran wrap and poke holes in the top).

After cooked you can leave the skin on or peel if you like. I believe my MIL took to boiling the veggies on the stove. (This recipe has evolved with time and I will post the simplest one last).

Take stems off peppers/tomatoes and place in blender. Blend to desired consistency.

Add:

*chopped cilantro, as desired, to blender.

*(large) chopped slices of onion.

*water (to change consistency as desired).

*lime juice (around 1 tsp)

*garlic

*salt

Blend (but not too much).

This is a recipe that you experiment with. I think this version is rather spicy (but not too spicy).

The key is to find that right balance of lime, salt and cilantro. It has taken a while for us to fine-tune.

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Here's dh's version:

Simple Hot Salsa

1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 Onion
1 large clove of garlic (or equivalent jarred/minced garlic)
1 jalapeno pepper
1 serrano pepper
1/2 habanero pepper (peppers to taste)
1/4 tsp salt
handful of cilantro (to taste)
lime juice (to taste)
water (to desired consistency)

Chop everything up a bit, toss it in the blender, and blend. Be careful not to over blend.

*This recipe uses canned tomatoes and an extra hot habanero. Plus it skips all the cooking. This is the one we eat regularly.

You should skip the habanero if you don't do *hot*. You could also remove/reduce the seeds from the other peppers to keep some of the pepper flavor and bring down the hotness.

If you want fresh tomatoes it is best to cook them a bit to soften them.

This recipe is easy to double.

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Warning: If you use the habanero wear gloves or wash your hands very well afterwards. Seriously. IT will burn your skin and you don't want to rub your eyes or anything after handling one. I think it is a bit much but dh loves his habaneros. I am sure most of you should probably just skip it.

I found this:

"Habanero peppers - To date these are the Hottest chili peppers know to man, HOT - HOT - HOT. Use extreme caution when using. Marble-shaped chili peppers, ranges in color from unripe green to full ripe red."

"Serrano Chiles - A small 1 ½” fresh HOT pepper. The smaller they are, the more kick they have. Most often used in Pico de Gallo. Dynamite hot is an understatement for these tiny 1-inch peppers. When new on the vine, they are rich, waxy green, changing to orange and red as they mature. They also sold canned, pickled, or packed in oil. A great source of vitamin C."

Courtesy of: