Homemade Chunky Salsa

• 8 quarts Tomatoes, Diced
• 1 quart Sweet Peppers, Chopped
• 1 quart Onions, Chopped
• 1 quart Celery, Chopped
• 1 quart Cider Vinegar
• 2 cups Water
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• ⅓ cups Canning Salt, Not Iodized
• 1 Tablespoon Pickling Spice, Tied In A Cloth
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Cayenne Pepper, More If You Want It Hotter
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
• Tabasco Sauce, To Taste (None For Mild Salsa, Plenty For Hot Salsa)
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Combine all ingredient in a large, heavy kettle or roasting pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 to 3-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove the picking spice that was tied in a cloth. Pour hot salsa into clean, sterilized pint jars. Process in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. pressure for 30 minutes.

This makes a mild to medium-heat salsa. For killer hot, we drop in 2 or 3 jalapeno peppers.

Yields 14 pints.

(We’ve cooked this in the oven, on the barbecue, and on a portable propane burner. All methods work equally well.)