How to make a Blender full of Good Fresh Salsa for under $3

First lets examine the ingredients:

• Tomatoes - Here I bought fresh tomatoes, but buying cans is cheaper and less work. The most economical was is to get a big 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes and a small 10oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies in it. If you are looking for taste over cost I would just buy 4 10oz cans with green chilies. Cost: ~$1.50
• Onion - Here I bought a white onion, but any medium size onion will be ok. Cost ~$0.50
• Garlic - We only need 3-4 cloves. Cost ~$0.20
• Jalapeños - I bought a bunch of different peppers here, but Jalapeños are the only key ingredient. Buy more or less depending on how spicy you want it. I would buy 2. Cost ~$0.50

Thats it! Total Cost: ~$2.70. The other ingredients are sugar, salt, and cumin, but the quantities are negligible. You don't really need lemon, lime, or cilantro, but they lime and cilantro definitely add something if you want to spend the extra money. This will make you a blender full of salsa.

Here's what you do to make the salsa.

1. Cook the jalapeños wrapped in tin foil in a convection oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. For a spicier salsa cook for a shorter amount of time. For a milder salsa cook for longer. You can also remove the seeds for a milder salsa.
   
2. Dice the onions, garlic, and jalapeños.
3. With a food processor or blender, first puree the garlic and jalapeños with a little bit of onions/tomatoes. If you want to use cilantro you can throw that in now as well. I find that a food processor gives a better consistency.
   
4. Add the rest of the onion and tomatoes as well as a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of cumin. If you have a lime you can add the juice now. Use the blenders lowest setting(pulse) for about 10 seconds to get to the desired consistency.
5. Refrigerate then enjoy.

Things to consider:

• My favorite ingredient not in the cheap version of salsa is the lime juice. Add $0.40.
  
• Cilantro also adds a lot to the salsa, but I can not get it in small enough quantities and the leftover cilantro always goes bad. Add $0.30 and hope any leftovers stay fresh.
  
• If you like guacamole, add an avocado or 2 when the salsa gets down to the dregs. It is also a good idea to add lemon juice so the guacamole does not turn brown.
• Name brand tortilla chips are expensive, and store brand tortilla chips taste just as good.
• If you want some jalapeños but do not want to pay for them(or you can not find them at the grocery store), the next time you are ordering a sandwich at Subway or any similar sandwich shop, keep asking them for more jalapeños until they refuse to give you any more. Then scrape them into the salsa.