Roasted Red Pepper Salsa.

Happy Monday!  Okay, I’m a little jacked up today.  I forced myself to take a “rest” day yesterday.  I worked in the morning, went to lunch for Thai food with my husband post his yoga class and had a nice relaxing afternoon.  My daughter had a high school carb loading swim dinner last night and after she got off – I went upstairs and curled up with two fabulous books I’m reading and actually went to bed early.  I got 9 hours of solid sleep last night.  Rarely happens but I woke up feeling really good today and energized.  I guess rest days really do work, despite how much I dislike them.  As I told my family, I went analog for the night – turned my iPhone off, twitter, Instagram, computer, tv… all of it- off!  Have you done this?  You really should.  We get so wrapped up in it all that it takes away from some much needed quiet time in our life.  Try it!  I bet you’ll feel your battery recharge and be more present in the moments going on around you.  Okay, off my soapbox.

Last Friday, because we didn’t have a dual meet on Saturday, I told my girls that they could invite some friends over for dinner.  We were going to have a pizza party and then migrated it over to a taco night.  I’m known for my salsa recipe but have to admit, it’s only really good in the summer with fresh tomatoes.  So I wanted to whip up some different salsas for the taco bar and this by far is a new fave.  Why didn’t I ever think of making it earlier?  LOVE!  Super easy and just had a great flavor.  I would totally use this on eggs, atop your favorite protein or as a spread on sandwiches.

Think Super Bowl party appetizer.  Easy.  Can be made ahead of time and let’s face it… it’s gorgeous.  The colors just jump out at you.  You do eat with your eyes first, after all.  And the more colorful the veggies – the more vitamins and minerals they have!  Color rules!

Ingredients:

1 jar of roasted red peppers (tall jar that I believe is 10-12 ounces), liquid drained
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 handful of fresh cilantro leaves, washed
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (good & aged)
Salt
Pepper
1/2 jalapeño, you can seed it or not depending on your spice perference
Juice of one lime

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place your drained peppers onto a cookie sheet and roast for 30 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

In the meantime, place your garlic and jalapeño into your food processor or Vitamix and pulse a few times to break them down.  No one wants a large chunk of either in their salsa when eating.  Then add the remaining ingredients including your cooled roasted peppers.  Pulse a few times until you achieve your desired salsa texture.  Spoon out into a bowl and refrigerate until serving.  I suggest taking it out about 30 minutes prior to consumption to let it reach room temperature.  Serve with tortilla chips, veggies or as a spread on sandwiches, hoagies etc.

— Knead to Cook