Salsa

My husband is a salsa junkie, and we were going through multiple jars per week.  So, of course, I got the crazy idea just to make my own and make a ton at a time.  I tried a recipe or two or three, but they all seemed just ok and were lacking a little.  In the end, I took the parts I liked from each recipe, and I combined them to make my own.  What you’ll need to make Fit Mama’s salsa:

• 6-8 Cayenne peppers
• 8 small Roma tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1/8 cup dried Cilantro (or 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro)
• 2 Tblsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 drops pure liquid Stevia
• 2 tsp garlic salt (or to taste)

Place the Cayenne peppers in the food processor, and process until the peppers are chopped into small pieces.  This will keep you from getting a large chunk of pepper and setting your mouth on fire.  Yes, I did learn that the hard way.

After the peppers are processed, add all of the remaining ingredients and process until you reach the desired consistency.

Side Note: When my hubby wants this to be super spicy, I replace the cayenne peppers with two habanero peppers. Also, due to the lack of sugar in this recipe, it is 21 Day Fix approved and would count as a green.

Homemade Regular/Honey Peanut Butter

My husband prefers the honey peanut butter, so I used to blindly buy it and he was happy.  Then, I hit that phase when I started looking at labels, and all of the honey peanut butter that I could find had sugar and honey.  Why in the world does my PB need sugar if it already has honey?  So, I decided that was a no-go.  Then, I finally found  honey PB with no added sugar, but you always had to stir it to mix in the oil.  I don’t know about you, but for me, ain’t nobody got time for that. When I finally realized that the product I wanted didn’t exist, I decided I would make my own.  So I did, and it’s the easiest thing ever.  Here’s what you need:

• A food processor
• Roasted Peanuts
  • I use lightly salted, and peanuts and salt are the only ingredients.
  • My can was 1.6 lbs.
• 1 Tablespoon Honey (optional)
  • If you want regular PB, you can leave the honey out.
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt (or to taste)

Pour your peanuts into the food processor and turn it on.  After a short while your peanuts will start looking like ground peanuts.  Keep processing and everything will start to look like big lumps.

Keep processing and the mixture will start to look grainy but shiny.  This is when I stop the food processor and add in my honey and salt.  I use 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tablespoon of honey, but you can add it to taste (especially depending upon whether you buy unsalted, lightly salted, or regularly salted peanuts).  Then, continue to process.

After about a total of 5 minutes, your peanut butter will start to look much more smooth, shiny, and soft.  This is where you want to stop.  The PB will be warm from the processing, so it will be a little bit thinner than most PB.  Place your PB into your storage containers, and once it cools it will thicken up a little more.

Your PB won’t be quite as smooth as store bought (but still plenty smooth), and if you make it that smooth then the oil will separate in the jar.  It will still work just fine, you’ll just have to mix it before each use.  If your PB ends up too dry, then you didn’t process it long enough.  It took a few trial and error sessions for me to figure out the best stopping point.