Chips and Salsa!

Hi everyone!  Happy Election Day!  Per usual, I voted for myself.  I’m running on a platform of music every Friday in the quad at lunch time, more Spirit days, and I promise to make this year’s prom the BEST EVER.  I’m kidding of course.  I really did vote.  I even voted early….last week.  My foremothers didn’t bust their ass to get me a vote so that I could sit at home on my lazy butt and not use it.  Vote, people.

Last week, Chris, Paisley and I had some time to kill while Addy had cheer practice.  We ended up eating at a Mexican restaurant, and like always, I inhaled 3 baskets of chips and salsa and couldn’t eat what I had really ordered for dinner.  I realized that I shouldn’t even order anything.  I should make my peace with just eating chips and salsa.  But I guess that cheats the restaurant.  Anyway, I decided to dig out my recipe for homemade chips and salsa last night so that I could relive the other night.

Have you ever made homemade salsa or chips?  It is actually ridiculously easy.  Plus, I use canned tomatoes, so you really can make this all year ‘round.  And who doesn’t love chips and salsa….anytime, anyplace?  Wait till you see what I add to it to make it extra delicious;)

 

For my salsa, I used a can of diced tomatoes, a jalapeno, garlic, onion, cilantro, lime juice and…….pineapple!  Surprise!  Pineapple gives this a yummy sweet and tangy flavor that I love in salsa.  It balances the spice.

I also use salt.  It just didn’t make the photo.

 

I started by draining my two cans, the crushed pineapple and diced tomatoes.  I throw away the juice.  You don’t need it.

 

Into the food processor goes the onion, jalapeno and garlic….all roughly chopped.  I also threw my salt and lime juice in there.  This gets pulsed until it is chopped up and mixed.  Don’t just turn it on and let ‘er rip.  We aren’t making baby food.  I like my salsa to have some substance.

Oh yeah, I took the seeds and ribs out of my jalapeno in hopes that my kids would eat this salsa.  You can do whatever you want with your jalapeno, but remember….the heat lives in the seeds and ribs. 

 

This is what is should look like, just not so blurry.  Unless you are drinking margaritas with your salsa.  Then, it might look blurry in real life.

 

Finally, I tossed in the tomatoes, pineapple and cilantro.  I pules this again until I had the consistency I wanted.  Boom.  It’s done.

 

This rivals any restaurant salsa.  The sweetness of the pineapple is what makes it so special.  That, and the fact that it is super easy.

As for the chips, I use flour tortilla chips because that is what I like.  I prefer flour over corn.

 

You can make as many, or as few, as you want.  There really is no recipe for this…..they just get fried in hot oil.

I cut mine into wedges.  I guess you could really do whatever shape you want. 

 

Before you say to yourself….she really should have used a bigger pot….Yes, I know.  This pot was what was clean, so this pot was what I used.  I fried a few at a time.  You don’t want to overcrowd your pot because this will bring the temperature of the oil down, leaving you with soggy chips.

Technically, you want to fry your chips in 350 degree oil (vegetable or peanut).  But you don’t have to use a thermometer.  Just pour your bottle of oil into a heavy bottomed pot.  Make sure the oil is about 3 inches deep.  Let it heat up, over medium heat, for about 5 minutes.  Put the end of a toothpick, or a wooden spoon into the oil.  If it sizzles all around it, it is ready.  If nothing happens, let it keep heating. 

The chips fry for about 30 seconds each side, or until brown.

 

When the chips are done, lay them out on paper towels to soak up the extra grease.  And don’t forget to salt these bad boys….they need quite a bit.

This takes some time, depending on how many chips you want to make, but it is easy…and well worth it.  People will freak that you made your own chips;)

That is a bowl full of fried goodness.  Of course, you could buy a bag of chips to serve with my pineapple salsa, but you should try this…at least once.

 

Yes, I ate it all.  And no, I didn’t eat dinner after this.

Pineapple “Restaurant” Style Salsa

½ a large onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, roughly chopped

1 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon lime juice

14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained

¼ cup cilantro

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached.