0 point salsa or necessity is the mother of invention

Cooking is my hobby, passion, reason for getting out of bed, etc. I thought that Weight Watchers and the lifestyle change that it meant for me would deprive me of that hobby, but it's actually been the opposite. I cook even more now, and the major difference is measuring things. Didn't ever do that before. Now I just pay more attention to what I'm doing while I do it.

I read this recipe from The Pioneer Woman last week, and have been craving that deliciousness since I read it. I rummaged my stores for reasonable substitutes (because it doesn't hurt my feelings at all to read a recipe and then make up something vaguely reminiscent of what I read; it actually happens most of the time), and came up with this:

The major substitution is roasted red peppers for tomatoes. I could go buy tomatoes, yes, but I hate to when I've got something I can use, and then spend that money shoes.

The jalapenos are from Monica's garden last year, and are frozen:

And that's cilantro in the bag:

I should step back and mention that I was eating this concoction of thin bagel spread with fat free refried beans mixed with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese:

And then I realized that it would be better with salsa:

And I commenced to destroying The Pioneer Woman's recipe.

I started by seeding the jalapenos:

I used that fancy Pampered Chef gadget, and a garbage bowl. More helpful than you'd think.

I started to rough chop the onions:

But somebody wanted to go outside:

One of these days we'll get her a dog door.

Back to the salsa:

Ends trimmed.

Rough chopped.

Moved to the plate with the peppers.

Holding the knife the way Julia Child told me to.

Slide it over the stems to scrape the leaves off of the cilantro.

Let the dog back in.

Check for big stems, like the ones on top.

Wipe off the cutting board (note the dirty paper towel in the bowl) and then save yourself the next ten steps I did and use minced garlic from that jar in your fridge. I went from this:

To this:

without it ever making the paste I was going for, while this gal watched:

Gloating. She could have made the garlic into paste.

It all goes into the food pro:

Too full? Probably?

Add some lime juice:

Pulse until beautiful:

Add garlic almost paste but really still just big chunks:

Pulse again:

And transfer to a container, watching while the inevitable happens:

Then I spread it on that bagel and bean dip:

Let the dog out again

and left this mess for Mr. G to clean up, because he should not have made fun of the way I ran around the yard with her:

It was delicious. Especially because Mr. G was cleaning the kitchen while I sat on the couch eating it.