Heidi St. John

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Homeschooling Held Hostage

March 19, 2020HomeschoolingBiblical worldview, counter-culture, faith - not formulaHeidi St. John

I remember the day we decided pull our daughter out of school. The day we “made it public”—this decision to homeschool.

I.Was.Terrified.  Really.  My knees were knocking as I walked into our oldest daughter’s grade school.  I liked her teacher. I had no complaints, really, except that we knew in our hearts there was something missing.school

We longed for more.  More shared experiences. More tailored education. A greater focus on the Creator of the beauty that surrounded us. A desire to dig deeper into family life. More storytime. More field trips. Less rushing to go our separate ways every morning. More LIFE.

That was fifteen years ago. Our beautiful second grader is now a beautiful wife and is expecting her own child this year. Time goes by fast.

In the past fifteen years, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the homeschool community.  There is much more pressure being put on homeschoolers to excel academically. We’ve gone from a few brave moms who, without access to mainstream “curriculum”, managed to give their children an excellent education—but we’ve forgotten what made it excellent.

It was excellent because these moms had a vision for homeschooling—they weren’t trying to re-create school at home. They were simply being obedient to the One who had called them to be different. They knew that if He had called them, He would equip them. And they were right.

When I was brand-new to homeschooling, I did the only thing I knew how to do: I set up a classroom in our home—complete with desks like the ones I had in school.

We soon began to understand that those desks, however, were not going to work over the long haul. What we really needed was a comfy couch, where we could curl up and read about the life of a hermit crab named Pagoo or discover the mysteries of the Island of Capri. Yes, a couch was what we needed.

For years, I notebooked with our children. We took nature walks and studied the seasons together. We did copy work and read stories of brave men and women who followed God with an abandon that most only dream about. And we spent a lot of time on the couch.

My husband (the patience of this man knows no limits) hauled the desks back up the stairs and out of the house. We sold them at a garage sale in the spring of 1999.

And today, as I look closely at our homeschool, I have to ask, “What makes me different?”

It’s easy to be held hostage by the expectations of the world.

I see it all around me—and I feel it myself.  The pressure is enormous. Why don’t my kids know Latin?

Am I doing enough?

sydney_piano

Most of us took our children out of public school in search of something more, only to be hijacked by the world’s system—right there on the couches in our living rooms. We’re putting our kids into hyper-academic “homeschooling” programs and we’re allowing the pressure of the “what ifs” to determine what we teach our children. Yes. We’re falling for it.  Does this sound familiar?

We can’t read today, kids.  We have too much math to do.
Mommy would love to play with you; but you need to finish your schoolwork first. And don’t forget about yesterday’s work.
We’ll do that later, after we do school.
Where is your list of assignments from the co-op?


Our Bibles gather dust—or worse—become just another thing to check off of our curriculum checklist.

*   Read one chapter in Hebrews.  *check here when done*

So many homeschool moms today are suffering from burnout—and I get it. The pressure to do more is enormous. But I wonder … is all this “more” really what God had in mind when He called us to be different? Somehow, I don’t think He meant for us to bring our children home only to have our home life hijacked by a worldly philosophy of education. I don’t think God meant for us—or our children—to struggle under the weight of someone else’s idea of a “proper” education.

I think—just maybe—He meant for us to be free.

Free to read aloud. All day if we want to. Even with our high schoolers.
Free to draw and create.
Free to discover the beauty of Creation—unhurried—and without the expectation of a report that is due about our “discovery” at the end of the next day.
Free to forget about preschool.
Free to take a hot chocolate walk for no reason.
Free … to know Him more.

hot_chocolate

 

It’s hard to do that when we’re always on someone else’s schedule.

If you are being held hostage by a burdensome curriculum or a program that promises to get your kid into college—and if you’re wondering if this was really the life that God had designed for you, I challenge you to look at those first homeschool moms. They set the bar—and they did it without expensive “all inclusive” programs. They did it by faith. They did it because they knew God would provide for their every need if they would only trust Him to guide and direct them.

These precious moms found out that God is faithful. He can be trusted. His mercies are new every day.

His yoke is easy. His burden is light.

 

Ask Him what He has for you and your children.  If you are not experiencing the “life” you were looking for when you began your homeschooling journey, it may be that you’re not giving the Lord permission to lead you there.

I know—because for all my trying— and even after I have experienced the freedom that comes from a more relational approach to homeschooling,  I often find myself a hostage of homeschooling rather than a mom who is enjoying the gift that she has been given through homeschooling.  It’s easy, even for a mom who has graduated a few children, to wonder if she’s doing enough.

If you’re being held hostage today—ask the Lord to show you His heart for your homeschool.  Because in following Him, you’ll find the LIFE you’re looking for.

Heidi St John Homeschooling Guide to Daylight

Shop Heidi’s Amazon Store for Homeschool resources, recommendations, and more!

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When You Feel Like You’re Failing, Look Up

March 18, 2020Becoming MomStrongHeidi St. John

 

Not long ago I was speaking about motherhood at a conference in Virginia. After three days of back-to-back sessions, I could feel myself getting tired. Jay and I had taken our kids with us for the speaking season, and this was the next-to-last stop on our four-month trip. Let me tell you, the grace was running out. Everyone was just getting on everyone else’s nerves.

Fifteen minutes before I took the stage, I was with our kids in the green room, making sure everyone had their lunch. The green room was about a ten-minute walk from where I needed to speak, and the walk included an escalator. I hate those things—they attract kids like mosquitoes to an incandescent light. I have more than twenty-six years of parenting under my belt, and I have yet to find a cure for the siren song of the escalator.

As we were making our way to the green room, I gave this word of caution: “If you play on the escalator, there will be huge consequences later!” Not a particularly eloquent (or specific) threat, but it was the best I could muster up after four months away from home. And because my word is law, they all naturally decided they needed to jump off the final step “one more time.”

Our fifth child was the last one to jump from the moving stairs of death. I watched as she catapulted her five-foot frame several feet into the air from the second step. Midway into her disobedient jump, she screamed. I suppose a good mom would have been concerned about an injury. Not me—I was just mad. I know, you wish I were raising your children.

“Mom! My hand hurts!” Summer wailed.

By this point, however, I was immune to wailing. As it happens, my mom was a pediatric nurse, so I took a lesson from her playbook, glanced at her hand, and very matter-of-factly said, “Looks fine to me. Now stop crying and finish your sandwich.” And then, just in case I didn’t appear callous enough, I threw in a final “That’s what you get for playing on the escalator.”

I was so irritated! Here I was, trying to get ready to speak in front of a standing-room-only crowd—on parenting, mind you—and I couldn’t get my own children to obey one simple request. I was so distracted by my circumstances that I forgot to gird up for battle. I forgot to pray. I let my flesh overpower my spirit, and do you know what I heard whispering in my ear the entire time I was speaking?

You’re failing. You can’t even get your own children to obey.
If these moms knew what you were really like, they would get up and leave.
You’re a bad mother. You don’t have anything to say that’s worth hearing.

I fought for every. single. word. that came out of my mouth that afternoon. No one seemed to know it, but I was in a full-blown war up there onstage. The voice of condemnation that spoke to my soul was almost audible, and it threatened to undo me.

Have you ever heard that voice? You don’t need to be a public speaker to hear it. The devil knows his audience, and he knows our weak spots. His goal? To cloud our vision long enough so that we lose sight of the true fight.

As long as we live on this earth, the voices clamoring to fill our souls with condemnation will persist. Weary, worn-out mothers are perfect targets for the enemy, and I was ripe for the picking that afternoon. You see, Satan is a master at making us believe that someone else could do our job better than we can. He knew exactly how to get to me that day, and he used my bad day to make me feel like a bad mom.

At that moment, I had a choice to make: I could accept the lies of the enemy and see myself through the eyes the accuser of my soul, or I could see myself through the eyes of my Jesus.

When the session ended, I made my way to the back of the stage and found a quiet place to pray. Sometimes prayer doesn’t seem as active as doing something, but in reality, there is nothing more powerful than bringing our whole selves to the Lord in prayer. God says that when we pray, He literally bends down to listen. That’s my Jesus. That’s my Savior.

Even today, tears fill my eyes as I remember His gentle words to me that day: You are loved. Loved when I lose my temper. Loved when I don’t meet someone else’s expectations for me, and loved when I do.

Precious mom, don’t let the enemy lie to you! If you believe the lies, you’ll be right where he wants you. Bad days do not make bad moms. God wants us to know His joy when we have good days—and He wants us to experience His grace when we don’t.

When we are assaulted by lies, we need to remember what and who we’re fighting for. Some days our biggest fight will be to see ourselves as God sees us. Because if God is for us (which He always is), no one—not even Satan himself—can stand against us (see Romans 8:31).

Adapted from Becoming MomStrong: How to Fight with All That’s in You for Your Family and Your Faith by Heidi St. John.

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When Your Homeschool Year Starts Off Crazy

March 17, 2020Homeschoolingfaith - not formula, time managementMarianne Sunderland

We started our homeschool year last week.  It went great.

For one day.

Then the crazies came to visit.  Interruptions.  Crisis.  Family stuff.  Business stuff.

Something inside me knew it was coming.  Every year it seems that something stops me from getting off to that great start that I’d dreamt of during those long uninterrupted periods of planning over the summer.

And then it happens – friends begin sharing their awesome back-to-homeschool photos and experiences on my beloved Facebook page.  This is when it starts to get ugly inside my head.

Why, after 20 years of homeschooling can’t I figure this out?  I encourage moms all summer long as a speaker at homeschool conventions!  Shame on me!  Guilt. Condemnation.  Discouragement.  I told you it was ugly.

One thing this long haul of homeschooling has taught me  is that my God is faithful.  I may be discouraged but I do not despair.  2 Corinthians 4:8  “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not despairing.”

I head to the bathroom – many a busy mom’s prayer closet – and pour out my heart to God.  He is the only one to go to.  Only He knows why.  There is no logical reason for my failure.  I know how to plan and organize a homeschool.  Only He has the answers for my aching heart.

As usual – I felt the Lord’s peace and presence.  There is no shame or condemnation here.

I have peace, yet there is this part of me that hurts. That is when God reminds me that the pain I’m feeling is the idol I insist on making out of my kids’ education being torn down.  God wants His best for me and my kids and that’s not going to happen if I insist on getting in the way.

Coming from a long line of highly educated people, God knew my propensity for making academics an idol.  He has blessed me with 7 kids with dyslexia to make sure that never happens.

But I still try.

I still want to teach everything.  Teach it well.  Finish every page.  Have my kids get A’s on all the tests.

And I still want my first week of school to go well.  Is that too much to ask?

God is telling me that my homeschool is for His glory not for mine.

Honestly, looking back over my 20 years of homeschooling, I see so clearly that God has removed my signature from the lives of my kids.  Sure I’ve loved them and fed them and done my best to faithfully shepherd them alongside my husband, but their successes are nothing about me – nothing but evidence of God’s amazing grace.

Every year I try to pick up the reigns again and make homeschooling and parenting about me – about what I can give and do and create out of these kids.

But, however much I want to be in control:

It is God that knitted them together in my womb. (Psalm 149)

God who has created them with purpose – since before the foundation of the world.  (2 Timothy 1:8-9)

It is God that causes them to will and to work for His purposes. (Philippians 2:13)

Freshly humbled, I am able, once again, to let go of my grip and let my ideals, my plans, and my purposes go.

It’s a little scary and exciting all at once.  Shouldn’t that be how it is when we walk with the living God?

If you are struggling with the back to school crazies, may I encourage you with the encouragement that I myself have received?

The baby is the lesson.  Most of my homeschooling days have been filled with babies and toddlers in arms and underfoot.  Even though my youngest is now five and a very enjoyable, mostly rational young fellow – I have grandkids!  When the babies and toddlers are distracting you from your plans, remember that the baby is the lesson.  Relax and enjoy them and show your older kids (who could otherwise be doing Math or English) that babies are a treasure.  Show them how to love and enjoy that noisy, messy toddler.  Mercy, kindness, compassion, service – that is the lesson for the day.

God is your Headmaster.  We can plan and research all summer long but remember what God has to say about the plans of man.  “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9

It’s not about you.  I know this is uncomfortable.  Believe me.  I know!  Our homeschools are not for our glory.  Look how quickly we finished our studies.  Look at how well my kids did at the spelling bee.  Look at all the great hands-on projects we’ve completed.  Although there is nothing wrong with these things, they are not why we homeschool.  We homeschool to raise kids to love and serve God and each other.  Academic pursuits must be second to spiritual tasks.

God is faithful, Mama.  If life is looking a little crazy today, step back and seek the One who has numbered your days.  There is rest in knowing that He is perfectly aware of how much English you finished today and you are right where He wants you.  And when others see your homeschool, though they don’t see a Pinterest perfect mama, they will see a family that is being perfected by what God is doing in their lives.

Marianne


Shop Heidi’s Amazon Store for Homeschool resources, recommendations, and more!

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Even When Our Plans Fail, God’s Never Will

March 16, 2020Becoming MomStrongHeidi St. John

 

Have you ever noticed how many of the psalms were written during times of difficulty?

Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident
Psalm 27:3

This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I trust him.
Psalm 91:2

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
Psalm 27:1

If we read between the lines of these psalms, we get the distinct impression that the psalmist is facing some pretty serious challenges: being surrounded by an army, needing a place of refuge, facing danger and fear and anxiety. Maybe we’re not facing a literal army, but my guess is that most of us have felt like we’re in a battle at some point or at the very least in need of a place of rest and protection.

Likewise, most of the New Testament epistles were written from prisons. Some of the most powerful sections of Scripture were written by authors who found themselves in circumstances beyond their control—circumstances they never would have chosen themselves. Paul wrote the book of Philippians when he was in custody of the Roman government, yet he still clung to the promise of God’s faithfulness: “This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). 

In the same way that fear can test our trust, trials can also test our trust. Let me say that again, because I need to hear it too: trials test our trust.

In her song “Hard Times Come,” Amy Grant writes,

Hard times come
And they’ll come till we’re done.

You know what? She’s right. Hard times come—but they’re not here to torture us; they’re here to teach us. We either learn from them or we don’t.

One of the mistakes we often make as mothers is thinking that our children should never see us get upset or wrestle through something. This is simply not true (not to mention impossible). Struggle is part of life. The question isn’t whether our children should see our struggles and burdens. The question is, Do our trials point our children to Jesus Christ even as we stumble and struggle along the way?

If we tell our children that we trust God but we’re living in a constant state of panic and distrust, what are we saying with our lives? Through our actions, we put our trust in God on display for our children. It’s a big deal how we respond during trials. Our responses to the pressures of this world are shaping an entire generation. The way we handle failure, financial difficulty, loss, and pain speaks volumes about what we really believe.

In Psalm 20:7 (niv), David says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Allow me to put that into contemporary mom-speak for you: “Some trust in financial stability, some trust in homeschooling, some trust in medicine, some trust in [fill in your own blank], but I choose to trust in the name of the Lord!”

There are so many things that seem easier to trust than the Lord—after all, He is invisible. We like to see what we’re putting our trust in. That’s part of faith, isn’t it? That we’re trusting our future to a God we can’t see? But the truth is, anything other than Jesus will eventually let us down. In Psalm 28:7-8, David says: “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.  The Lord gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.”

Is the Lord your strength and shield? Take a moment to check your heart. It’s easy to operate in the world and forget that God is our true source of protection and power.

Does your life demonstrate a trust in God’s provision? In His goodness? In His Word? In His timing? It’s critical that it does. Why? Because we can’t give our kids what we don’t have. If we don’t put our trust in the Lord, how can we expect them to?

Are you struggling? Look up! Don’t be overcome by fear or anxiety. Remember that God can use these hard times to teach us and to put our trust to the test.

One of the reasons I love the psalms so much is because David is so transparent in his human attempt to walk with his Creator. The source of his confidence and stability wasn’t in his own strength but in God. And yet he struggled. This man who referred to himself as the apple of God’s eye (see Psalm 17:8, NIV) struggled with fear. One minute he was praising God, and the next he was crying out for rescue—just like the rest of us!

When you find yourself struggling as David did, ask yourself, “Has He ever failed me?” The answer is a clear and resounding no. Even if it seems like He is absent. Even when we make mistakes and choose to walk in disobedience, God says He uses all things for good. He is in control—even when we feel out of control—which means we can quiet our hearts and rest knowing that God will never let us go.

When we realize that God sees our frailty and understands our worry, it’s easier to see His heart for us. God loves us, even in our times of doubt and unbelief. As the song goes, “The times they are a-changin’.” But God doesn’t change. He remains the same: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Even when my plans fail—His never will.

Adapted from Becoming MomStrong: How to Fight with All That’s in You for Your Family and Your Faith by Heidi St. John.

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30 Years

September 30, 2019MarriageHeidi St. John

 

 

10,957.

Today, that’s how many days we’ve been married. That’s almost 11,000 days of choosing faithfulness to a vow we made in front of God, our family and friends. Thirty years have passed in the space of ten, I think. How does it go so fast?

I was nineteen and he was twenty-one when we said “I do,” and yes, we were both as immature as we were young.

In truth, several people discouraged our marriage. After all, we came from very different backgrounds—his family was healthy and happy, while mine was on life-support, for starters.

His style was rock-n-roll, mine was very Portland preppy.

We both loved music, though. He played electric guitar and was the lead singer in a Christian rock-n-roll band. I was a pianist who was so intimated by his impressive skill on the guitar that I literally stopped playing when we started dating. I do wish I had kept with it, but it was a window into my terrible struggle with self-worth.

In the years to come, Jay would have his work cut for him out as he learned to navigate the broken places in my heart and mind. God has used our marriage as in instrument of healing in my life! Truly, Jay has loved me “like Christ loved the church” in so many ways over the past 30 years.

In the spring of 1989, we a sat down in a fast-food restaurant and completed an assignment from a pre-marital counseling session: we wrote out a list of marriage pros and cons. One column contained all the reasons why we should get married that fall, and the other was a thinly veiled attempt to be reasonable about it all. Of course, reason was long-gone. We were in love.

Even though we made that list more than thirty years ago, if I close my eyes, I can still see Jay spinning a pen over his fingers as he wrote. His eyes danced when he looked at me. He said I was beautiful and funny and smart—and amazingly, despite my secret insecurity and pain, I believed him.  He made me want to be all those things.

Six months after the list was made, we walked down the aisle and set out on the adventure of a lifetime.

We’ve been through a lot in thirty years. Seven newborns have been placed in our arms—the wonder of which never ceases to amaze us. Each child has exposed strengths and weaknesses in us—and forced us to face them. We’ve traveled the globe together planting homeschool co-ops and speaking to countless men and women about the hope we have in Jesus. We’ve graduated four of our seven children and been privileged to become grandparents, too!

Of course, things haven’t always been easy. Our hearts bear the scars of healing from shared heartache. We lost a precious baby to miscarriage early in 2000. That loss taught us that nothing is more precious than human life. Several years later, we endured the humiliation of losing our home to foreclosure and learned that people can be cruel when you pull out food stamps instead of cash at the grocery store. This taught us compassion and the of power kind words.

There have been seasons when we struggled to love each the way we promised to. We’ve been selfish and unkind to each other. Our words sometimes hurt instead of heal. I’ve pouted and slammed the door and, embarrassingly, engaged in childishness we call “the silent treatment.”

And through all of this, my husband stayed. He has loved me like Jesus. He held my hand as I was wheeled into the surgery that put an end to our ability make babies together. He’s been patient when our sex life was less than he needed, choosing to be patient as I struggled through hormone therapy and crippling anxiety.

For thirty years, his love has brought healing into my life.

Marriage is precious. It’s worth celebrating. Worth protecting. Worth defending and worth every ounce of energy we put into it. Marriage, after all, was God’s idea.

Today, I’ll look at my husband with tears in my eyes and let him know that I’d marry him all over again.  I’m so thankful for our marriage! I’m so thankful we got married young and that we have chosen — yes — chosen to stay faithful.

The vow matters. The promise is renewed with every passing joy and trial—and I am grateful.

Happy 30th Anniversary, Jay. I plan to spend the rest of my life making our home the place you most want to be. I love you!

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Abundant Motherhood

May 2, 2019Becoming MomStrongHeidi St. John

 

Kara Moss recently joined me on the podcast, and I’m excited to have her sharing more of her heart today on the blog today! I want to encourage you, Mom—share your challenges with Him, day and night, and let Him be your shelter.

xo, Heidi


Momlife. It’s the good life, the hard life, the fun life, the challenging life…It’s full of glorious moments, and it sees its fair share of crash-and-burn days too.

If you’re anything like me, you open your eyes each morning with an idea in your head of what the day should look like. For many years, I had this idea that if we could just make it to the end of the day with no major issues, attitudes, meltdowns, or frustrations then I could call it a successful day in our home. A good day meant everyone made right choices…no conflicts, no problems, no arguments. As you can imagine, we didn’t have very many successful days when that was how I defined it.

I was unintentionally putting a pressure on myself to do things perfectly. I was expecting a level of perfection out of my children to the point of growing impatient and frustrated with their sin…when the truth is, I am well aware of my own sin and my need for grace on a daily basis.

The journey of motherhood is teaching me that success isn’t defined by not messing up; it’s defined by getting back up. Every failure is an opportunity to grow…for both me and my children. If we learn to fail forward, our failures become launchpads for growth rather than set backs.

The real victory is overcoming challenges together not simply avoiding them. Those attitudes and meltdowns…those are actually gifts.

I know, I know…call me crazy. But that moment when your toddler has a meltdown in the middle of Target, and you have to walk out mid-shopping, leaving a cart full of stuff un-purchased…it’s a gift. Or the moment when your teenager is spewing words that you know deep down they can’t possibly mean…that is gift. These are the moments we get to see into the hearts of our children. We see where they are struggling, and we get to walk with them through it. We get to find Jesus together in the middle of it.  

When we pause, take a breath, and anchor ourselves in Christ right then and there, we can change our perspective. We begin to see the challenges that will inevitably come up, not as an inconvenience, but instead, as a moment we can make an impact.

So what does a successful day look like? It looks like making the most of every opportunity we have to speak love, life, and truth into our children’s hearts. It requires us to let go of the pressure of perfection and be fully present where we are. It calls for us to stop taking our children’s sin personally and help them find Jesus in the middle of it. Success is when we capture the struggles and challenges of the day and watch them become the moments where hearts are changed and souls are shaped.

You can always go back later and get that cart of stuff you left at Target…


Kara Moss is a wife and mom daily reminded of her need for Jesus. She is passionate about equipping and encouraging women to walk in the abundant life Christ promises. Her message is open and honest as she brings a relevant word rooted in Biblical truth.

More on Kara: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Abundant Motherhood

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Chipotle Salsa!

May 2, 2019Recipessavory, side dishHeidi St. John

Best.Salsa.Ever.

So … I am a HUGE salsa fan. I like it HOT. (Can you imagine?)

I started making salsa years ago and when I started I did things the “purist” way … even fire-roasted tomatoes! Well, several children later, I’ve graduated to canned tomatoes and I have to say that they taste every bit as good because all the other ingredients really “make” the salsa!

Here’s my recipe for my favorite salsa, and a few tips for those of you with more “mild” tastes:

  1. If you don’t like SPICY salsa, you can cut down on the heat by taking out the seeds in the jalapenos and all the white membrane that holds the seeds. **word to the wise** Be careful with jalapenos! I’m here to tell ya, I made the mistake one time of taking out my contacts with jalepeno still on my hands.  It.Wasn’t.Pleasant.  WASH YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY after handling jalapeno peppers.
  2. Chipotle peppers are just smoked jalapeno peppers in yummy sauce. They can be hot. If you want a more mild recipe, simply cut the amount of chipotle pepper but don’t cut it out entirely. That yummy smoked flavor is AMAZING in salsa.
  3. Use fresh ground pepper if you can. It’s the best. 🙂

So without further adieu, here’s my secret recipe! Enjoy!

1 large white onion
1 red pepper
2 cans diced tomatoes – drained
3 jalapenos – seed them to remove the “heat” (I like mine HOT)
4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of cilantro (yes the whole bunch)
1 or 2 canned chipotle peppers
2 tsp liquid smoke
1 T white vinegar
1 T lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Add these to your food processor and blend FIRST.

  • Onion
  • Cilantro
  • Jalapeno

Adding these first helps keep the tomatoes from becoming “soupy”

Add the tomatoes last and pulse your food processor. The trick is to get it the consistency that you like it. It might take a few tries but keep at it. It’s worth it!

After you have blended those, add your liquid smoke (Optional if you don’t have it. Don’t run out to the store, just buy it for next time.), vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper & chipotle pepper.

Blend. Add the drained cans of diced tomatoes LAST. Taste for salt and pepper. Remember to PULSE your food processor. You want salsa, not soup. 🙂

This will make a whole lotta salsa! Enough to feed a crowd. Maybe it’s time to have some friends over… !

Enjoy!
Heidi

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