Homemade Salsa Recipe (best when mixed with love and laughter)

I love to eat chips and salsa! I can almost make a meal out of it! Several years ago, I started a quest to come up with the best homemade salsa. I was very serious about it and made notes of the ingredients used for each batch so I could duplicate the results if it turned out good. This quest lead me to a simple but tasty salsa that our family has grown to love. When we are dining out, it makes me feel good when I hear one of our kids say Wow! This salsa is almost as good as dad's! It is very satisfying to know that my simple homemade recipe has set the bar for their taste comparisons. Occasionally one of the kids will say I sure am hungry for some of your salsa, dad. Well now,who can resist such a heart-felt request?

Sometimes I will get the ingredients together and start making a batch, one of the kids will notice what I am doing and will run through the house shouting dad's making salsa! I cannot put into words the feeling that comes over me when one by one my family drifts into the kitchen to sample the freshly made salsa--sometimes they will stand waiting for it to be finished.

I cherish the hours we have spent, standing at the kitchen counter--my wife, our four kids, and me--eating salsa on chips taken right out of a newly opened bag. The laughter, the joking, the hey I want some!, the love, the sharing, the just one more (for the tenth time)...

When Trent, my oldest son, went to college (1,100 miles away), his first phone call home was answered by me. Within the first minute of conversation he said I'm hungry for some of your salsa, dad. I just handed the phone to my wife because I was too choked up to talk.

Now, I'm not so foolish to think the salsa is that great...I knew what he missed was the family time. But it's times like that when a simple dish of salsa can have a whole new meaning.

So...give it a try--it's simple but really good:

2 tomatoes (garden fresh, if possible)

1 jalapeno

1 small onion

1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend to desired consistency, then pour into a bowl and enjoy. Add salt to taste.

For maximum enjoyment, add family, love, and laughter.