Almost Chili’s Salsa

Do you know how many copycat Chili’s Salsa recipes there are available, with the simple click of a mouse?

Baaaaaazillions!

I’ve tried at least fifty of them. True story. Seriously, Chili’s restaurant has to be laughing at all of us. Can I be bold enough to say, that I think this one is the closest? Heck yes! I think to get closer, you have to sit down at Chili’s.

We still . . . still have tomatoes growing in our garden.  I’ve bottled and bottled our favorite salsa, but I didn’t want the last survivors to go to waste.  The deer are are quickly taking care of the strong ones, hanging on for dear life.  No pun intended.

Unless you just flat out don’t care for salsa, then you really won’t want to skip making this easy recipe. I’ve kinda tweaked a few recipes, added a bit here and there to make it what I feel is a good Chili’s match. I think we can ALL agree, that to get the real deal . . . you need to go to Chili’s.  After all, unlimited chips & Salsa is a real deal!

All you need is a blender or a food processor, and really, you don’t even need that. You could even use a mixer.

Go one step further and make your own tortilla chips. You can use corn tortillas and simply cut them into triangle shapes with a pizza cutter. Quickly deep fry them until crisp. Drain the chips on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with sea salt.  So yummy.

In fact . . . I  dare you to stop eating homemade chips & Almost Chili’s Salsa, before you’re really quite sick and can almost speak a different language!

I’m using fresh tomatoes today, since I seem to have them in abundance. You can do the same or use canned whole tomatoes or a mixture of both. I quite like a mixture of both to be honest.

My most important NOTES:

• Keep in mind, that if you use fresh tomatoes, the color will not be quite as bright red.
• We like to use TRES HERMANAS sliced Jalapeños No heat Mild Jalapeños. Mexican section of the grocery store in a bottle.
• If I don’t have fresh limes in the fridge, I use: 2 tablespoons of Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice.
• Use a sweet Vadalia yellow onion or even red onion for great flavor.
• My favorite way to make this if you don’t have a lot of fresh tomatoes:  Use 2  14.5oz cans whole tomatoes and then chop up 2 or 3 fresh roma tomatoes and incorporate them as well. Canned tomatoes have a deeper flavor.
• Make sure that you refrigerate the salsa for a few hours before serving.  All the flavors blend and it’s ever so better.
• Make extra, then you can freeze in well sealed jars or containers.

Remember, just because a recipe is a recipe doesn’t mean you need to follow it exactly.  This salsa is what I consider to be mild.  My husband considers it to be medium.  Cut the jalapeños in half if you like. Read my notes, I found no-heat Jalepenos. Love them.  I double the sugar and add a teaspoon white sugar + 1 teaspoon brown sugar. You can adjust to your taste. I love red onion, but my husband prefers Vadalia Sweet onion.  If I have a fresh lime in the fridge, I sometimes add the juice of the entire lime. 1 lime is equivalent to 2 tablespoons of bottled lime juice.

One last note:  Some of you like Cilantro  . . . some don’t. If you don’t like it, don’t add it.

You really can’t mess this up!

It’s easy to make and although it might not be quite as good as the real deal . . . it’s pretty darn close.

Before I let you go, I have some PRODUCT LOVE for you.  I’m not being paid anything for spreading the word, I just think 2 products I use are quite AMAZING.

This Stainless Steel Cleaner has changed my life!  Yes it has.  I could spend literally an hour on my fridge using ALL the other so called Stainless Steel Cleaners, and they all stink.  I don’t necessarily consider it a cleaner. If I have sticky handles, I like to first wipe that off with a soft dish rag, then dry.  Spray your fridge lightly with this amazing Sprayway Cleaner and Polish and you’ll think you have a brand new refrigerator.  It takes seconds. Try it, you will love it. I find this at Walmart and Sam’s Club.

also . . .

Oh . . . this glass cleaner is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. It does make glass invisible.  Have you ever had a mirror that just WON’T come clean, no matter what you do. You think it’s streak free & clean until you walk away, then turn back and look.

uggggg. You start over again and again and again. Finally you just forget it. No more.  You will love this glass cleaner.  It’s a tad expensive, but you don’t use much and it works! I find this at Walmart.

Do you have a product or something you love?  If so, share it in a comment with me please.  (It can be makeup, cleaning supplies, a recipe, etc.)

 

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