Product Spotlight - Imagine No Chicken Broth

When I decided to take the leap to vegetarianism, I did it for ethical reasons.  I had struggled with reconciling my deep love of animals and a meat-eaters diet for many years, but upon learning more about factory farming and other egregious agri-business practices, I became a more conscious consumer.   I have been a vegetarian for almost 6 years now, and there are still a number of foods I miss.  One dish in particular is my husband's perfected chicken noodle soup.  I am telling you, this soup is the best soup I have ever had!  But how could you possibly make chicken noodle soup for a vegetarian and make it taste like the original version?

Then I found this amazing product - Imagine No Chicken Broth.  So many recipes call for substituting vegetable broth for chicken broth, but it is just not the same!  You can always tell it is just vegetable broth.  This no-chicken broth is different.  I have used it for soups, sauces, pastas, and casseroles and they all taste amazing!  I love that it is organic as well.

Now, it may be a little hard to find.  I have only been able to consistently find it at Whole Foods, but you can buy it online form their website, and I have seen it on Amazon as well.  If you are able to find it, I urge you to give it a try!  You won't be disappointed!  :)

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Watermelon Feta Salad

If you regularly visit this blog, you have seen that we get watermelon every week they are available.  Usually we just cut them into chunks and eat them plain for dessert during the week, but this time I was in the mood to try something new.  I have seen all sorts of watermelon salad recipes, but I usually didn't like something about them.  The main ingredient I repeatedly saw was fresh mint leaves.  Call me crazy, but I am just not a fan.  So I played around with a few variations and settled on this simple and clean version.  There are only three ingredients because I really didn't want to mask the flavor of the watermelon.  This is a wonderful dish to bring to a BBQ or summer pot luck.  Simple, fresh, and delicious! 

Ingredients

5 C cubed watermelon
1/4 C diced red onion
1/3 C crumbled feta

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and gently stir to combine.  Enjoy!!
2. This dish is best served cold. 

Weekly Menu

Phew!  We are finally getting over this heat wave!  I am done with excessive heat!  But nevertheless, I still made my way to my local farms to pick up another week's worth of amazing organic produce.  I am enjoying every last bit of the summer selection of fruit and veggie goodies.  We picked up some romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cherries, green beans, tomatoes, sweet corn, sweet Maui onion, red and yellow watermelon, and saticoy melons.  In addition to this, we have more cucumbers from our yard and some carrots left over from the last farm run.  Here is what we will be making this week:

• Egg Salad Sandwiches with a Watermelon Feta Salad
• using the red watermelon

• Pot Pie Pizza and House Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
• using the remaining carrots, green beans, corn, romaine, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers

• Double Decker Tacos with a Mexican Layered Dip
• using the sweet Maui onion, romaine, tomatoes

We will be enjoying the yellow watermelon and saticoy melons for dessert and will be adding the cherries to my freezer for more Frozen Cherries.  Hope you all have a wonderful week filled with delicious food!

shared on Orgjunkie.com

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party and Giveaway

Welcome to another wonderful Friday Party!!  We had a great turn out last week and I am so excited to see what you bring today!  First, lets go through the winners from the last party.

#1 is the Molasses Cookies Spatulas on Parade

#2, #3 AND #4 Spots go to Cooking from a Stay at Home Mom with Cheddar Bacon Fries, Salted Caramel Cake, and Corn Dogs. WOW!

But because that leaves just 2 winners, we will give the 3rd e-book to our #5 recipe this week:

Amees Savory Dish with Gluten Free Spice Cake

Great job everyone!  

My host favorite goes to The Garden Grazer and her Chickpea Noodle Soup!  How amazing does it look with all those beautiful veggies!  I am so excited to make this!

AND NOW FOR THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY!!

This week we have another fantastic prize for the top 3 winners!  Farm Girls Glitz and Glam will be awarding their Lavender Scented Body Scrub to the recipes with the most votes!  How awesome is that!  So choose your best recipes and get linked up!

NOW LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!

LET'S MEET OUR HOSTS THIS WEEK
Link-up on any one of these websites and you will be on ALL of them!

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsviewathome.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar  http://alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com/  

Sarah at Everything in the Kitchen Sink http://everythingkitchensink.blogspot.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://wifeofthecolonel.blogspot.com/

Lindsey at Family Food Finds  http://www.familyfoodfinds.com

Cindy at Cindys Recipes and Writings  http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com

Keira at Luscious Delights http://www.lusciousdelights.blogspot.com.au/

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade  http://www.spatulasonparade.com

Ericka at Chef Picky Kid  http://www.chefpickykid.com

Huevos Rancheros

If you can believe it, I had my very first huevos rancheros meal less than 2 years ago.  I can't believe what I was missing out on!  As soon as I tried it, I knew I had to make it at home.  While it might not be a "health food" because of the crispy tortillas, I do love the sheer volume of veggies you can pack on top! An added bonus of making it yourself is you can cook the black beans at home minimizing the added salt you might find elsewhere.  This dish is great for breakfast or dinner.  Best of all, you can customize it to your family's tastes with your favorite veggies!

Ingredients (makes 3 servings)
1 C dried black beans, cooked and drained (or 1 can, drained)
1/4 C olive oil, plus 1 Tbsp
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
8 oz cheddar cheese, finely grated
6 oz sliced olives
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
4 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
6 eggs, over easy (2 per plate)
Restaurant Style Salsa
sour cream
6 flour tortillas (2 per plate)

Directions

1. Heat about 1/4 C olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Place one tortilla at a time and cook until the underside is crispy and golden.  Flip and repeat on other side.  Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.  Repeat for all the tortillas you plan on using.  Set aside. 
2. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions, beans, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.  Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Cook eggs over easy while you assemble the rest of the dish.  Place 1 tortilla on a large plate.  Top with about 1/4 C of the black beans.  Top with the other tortilla.  Ad more black beans, then cheese, then the rest of the veggies.  Top with the cooked egg.  Add salsa and sour cream to taste and garnish with cilantro.  

Quinoa Tabbouleh

We have been suffering through a very uncomfortable heat wave here in southern California.  There is nothing worse than turning on your stove or oven in 90+ degree weather!  During the summer, I love finding recipes that use fresh veggies and ZERO cooking!  This is one of my go-to recipes.  It is full of fresh summer vegetables and hearty quinoa.  This is a wonderful side to any meal, and leftovers make a healthy lunch!

Ingredients

2 C water

1 C uncooked quinoa

1/4 C olive oil

1/4-1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C lemon juice

4 tomatoes, diced

1 large cucumber, diced

3 green onions, diced

3 carrots, finely grated

1 C fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Combine the water and quinoa in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.  Stir in cooled quinoa.  Best if given at least 30 minutes to chill before serving.

Weekly Menu

We had a lovely (albeit hot!) trip to the farm this week.  Summer is really warming up here in Southern California!  It's funny because it doesn't usually get hot until August, but it will stay really hot sometimes through November!  Apparently our summer weather is a little late.  :)  Nevertheless, we brought home a beautiful summer bounty from the farm this week.  We chose basil, sweet Maui onions, saticoy melons, cilantro, Anaheim chile, a ton of tomatoes, carrots, and avocados.  We are also still experiencing a cucumber BOOM in our backyard.  Here is what we will be making this week:

• Greek Spinach Burger with Quinoa Tabbouleh
• using the sweet Maui onion, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, and parsley left over from last week's farm run

• Huevos Rancheros with Restaurant Style Salsa
• using the tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, Anaheim chile, and sweet Maui onion

• Fettuccine Alfredo with Caprese Salad
• using the basil and tomatoes

• We will also be making a batch of my Homemade Marinara to freeze and save for later!

• We will be enjoying the saticoy melons for dessert.