Homemade Salsa - SO EASY!!

So here's the thing.  I love making things from scratch.  Or maybe it's safer to say I love serving and eating things I've made from scratch.  But the reality is that it's usually easier to buy things (like salsa) at the store!  The problem with that however is that I am sometimes too cheap to buy it!  I went to five stores today - YES five stores - all which sell salsa.  Target.  Market Basket.  Stop & Shop.  Shaws.  CVS.  In that order.  But I did not buy salsa because it wasn't on sale and I didn't have a coupon.  My poor family!  Thankfully my husband gave me encouraging words before he left for work this morning, telling me that he believed I could make salsa from a can of diced tomatoes.  And... I did it!  And... it was SO EASY!  EASIER (and cheaper) THAN GOING TO THE STORE!  In fact, this salsa was totally free because I had absolutely everything I needed right in my kitchen.  If you have some of this stuff in your garden, that's even better!  Here it is, my friends.  Make your family some salsa tonight!

I got my inspiration from the recipe I found here, and tweaked it to fit what I had since I was not about to go to the store or spend any money on this!

FYI: I will never spend money on salsa at the store again!

Ingredients

• 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 10 ounce can of diced tomatoes & green chilies
• small onion, chopped
• clove garlic, pressed
• jalapeno slices (I don't know how many I used... I found them in the fridge and put maybe 8-ish slices in?)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cilantro (if you don't think you have any, see if you have any of those McCormick Recipe Inspirations Garlic Lime Chicken Fajita thingies in your stockpile - it was in there!)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (I would have used lime but didn't realize I had it until after the fact)

Directions

• Put all of the ingredients in a blender (or food processor) and pulse until combined (about 30 seconds or less depending on how you like it)

Let me know how it turns out for you!

Thanks, Mountain Mama Cooks for sharing your recipe!

Yumbox!

I wrote an earlier post about my new love of bento style lunch boxes but at that point I was still on a quest for the best one for our family.  My search has ended!  After much research I decided to try the Yumbox for our three year old's preschool lunches and I (and she) could not be happier!  I posted about my experiences to my friends on facebook and was shocked to see how many other Mommy's needed some mealtime solutions.  If you are struggling with mealtimes, please give this a try.  It's a gem that I will never regret purchasing and I don't think you would either!

Here are some things I love about the Yumbox... (I'm sure I'll forget something so I may have to come back and update as I remember more... there is just so much!)

• It is leakproof!  This means that I can continue to pack strawberries without juice spilling into the lunchbox.  I can pack yogurt and ranch dressing right next to sandwiches and chips with no leakage whatsoever!  Does it get any better than that?

• It is compartmentalized.  I can stay organized as I pack and my daughter can look at an organized lunchbox with several healthy options, all in one place for her to choose to eat as she wishes.

• It is labeled.  This helps me be sure that I'm packing a healthy and balanced meal.  I will admit that we cheat in the vegetable department because my daughter is not interested in bringing veggies for lunch but would love extra dairy and I'm fine with that at this point.

• Leftovers stay fresh in the fridge.  When my daughter doesn't finish her lunch, she likes to keep it in the fridge and come back for another snack later.  With the Yumbox filled with healthy snacks, I don't have to worry about what she chooses at lunchtime or later because I know that the only choices she has are good ones.

• It has a removable tray for easy cleaning and can be used as a dinner plate or lunch plate for non-school days.

• It is easy to open and close.  My three year old can do it without assistance.

• It is compact and fits in our LL Bean lunchbox with room to spare!  This was not true of the last bento box we tried.

I just love love love the Yumbox.  My anxiety about packing lunches has significantly decreased and I feel so good about packing this up and sending it to school.  I have fun packing it, and my daughter has fun eating it.  If you have a picky eater, anxiety about lunch packing, or just want a fresh start and something fun and special, the Yumbox is for you!

You can order Yumbox directly from the company's website or through amazon.  They are new and tend to sell out quickly so if you are interested, I would order ASAP!  You can follow Yumbox on facebook or Pinterest for some lunch packing ideas as well.  The Yumbox is currently available in pink and green.

 

Several people have asked me about the little food picks - they just add a little more fun our meals!  They are inexpensive and adorable.  Some are very small so I am picky about which ones I use until our daughter is a little older.  I got ours on amazon.

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Yumbox didn't ask me to write this review, I just wanted you to know about how great this product is!