Copy Cat Pace Salsa - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free/Dairy Free

Copy Cat Pace Salsa

I've long been trying to duplicate Pace Picante sauce, for years.  Every time I have peppers and tomatoes coming up in my garden I rethink the recipe.  This one is the closest I've come yet, but I think I have a couple more tweaks.  Above on the left is the Pace, the right is my copy cat.  A bit too thin, next time I'll try again with about half a can more of the tomato paste, and also, strangely enough, mine tasted sweeter, which is odd because I didn't add any sugar.  Maybe a bit more vinegar and I'll post my results when I get enough tomatoes to try another batch.

3 pounds fresh tomatoes

1 pound onion

1/2 pound jalapeno peppers

1/4 C vinegar

1 T garlic powder

2 t onion powder

6 oz can tomato paste

1 t cumin

Peel the tomatoes (dipping them for 1-2 min in boiling water makes the skins peel off easier) and then loosely cut up.  Loosely chop the onions.  Cut stems off jalapenos, slice and remove the inside fiber and seeds with a spoon (I usually use gloves when cutting up jalapenos - if you don't, be sure to wash your hands, use hand cream and then wash them again and be careful not to touch your eyes).  Mix all ingredients together in a large food processor (I have a 10 cup food processor and this still took 2 batches).  Process only a few pushes of the button - don't puree, you want chunky bits in there.

At this point it's actually really yummy if you want plain fresh salsa and you can just use it as is, but if you want to can it, keep reading.  Clean and sanitize 9 pint jars, by washing by hand and either boiling or keep in a sanitizing dishwasher, having them stay hot while you fill the jars.  Fill one at a time, keeping all jars and lids as hot as possible until processing.  Since I don't have a way to test the acidity of this recipe, I use a pressure canner.  Process in the pressure canner 15 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.  Once canner has cooled, remove jars and cool 24 hours.  Wipe down and label.  The picture is after canning, which cooks the salsa as it seals.

Makes 6-9 pints, depending on how full you fill your jars, in a pressure canner, you want to not overfill or they will not seal.  For the entire recipe -around 719 calories.  For about 1/4 C serving: 22 calories, 4 grams carbohydrates, 1 grams fiber.