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In my neck of the woods, ’tis the season for tomatoes, peppers, and onions and the harvest this year has been excellent! There are so many wonderful recipes that can be made with this wonderful trio of vegetables. We make our fair share of salsa (our friends over at Sweet and Salsa Sisters have the best recipe here!) as well as jumbalaya, chili, and of course fresh tacos. But what to do with the extra?
Well look no further, here is my favorite recipe for using some of our extra harvest! This is my copy cat version of the store bought canned Rotel tomatoes. These jars get us through the winter and form the base for my chili as well as other go-to recipes. My recipe is definitely milder as it uses sweet bell peppers instead of chiles, but I have been known to use an odd assortment variety of peppers as the garden (and friends) provide. This is an easy, water bath canning recipe that only takes a couple of hours start to finish. One tool that makes the process much easier is the Pampered Chef Utility Knife. This little serrated gem makes slicing and dicing the tomatoes and peppers an absolute breeze! I highly recommend this handy tool if you plan to do a lot of tomato slicing. But I digress…on to the recipe!
Home Canned Tomatoes and Peppers (Rotel Copycat)
(Makes approximately 15 half-pints)
1 gallon tomatoes (diced)
2 medium onions (diced)
2-3 large bell peppers (or equivalent pepper of choice) (seeded and diced)
lemon juice
2 1/2 Tablespoons canning salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Mix tomatoes, peppers, and onions together in large stock pot. Add apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir together. Bring to a boil then simmer for 45 minutes. While mixture is cooking prepare your jars and water bath. I bring my jars and lids up to a simmer so they are ready to pack. After the mixture has simmered for 45 minutes it is ready to be packed into the jars. Carefully fill, leaving 1/2 inch head space (which happens to be at the base of the lip of a ball jar), remove any air bubbles with a butter knife and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice per jar. Place warm lid on jar and tighten ring loosely by hand. Place jars back into water bath and bring to a boil (ensure jars are covered by at least 1 inch of water). Process for 20 minutes (see Ball Blue Book for specifications at higher or lower than average altitudes). Remove jars carefully and place on folded towel or heat protected surface. Let rest for 24-48 hours allowing to seal properly. Listen for the glorious ping to know all is well!
Your home canned tomatoes and peppers have a 1-2 year shelf life if stored properly in a cool, dark space. If a jar pops open or has an odd smell or color never use it as it could be contaminated with botulism.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!
