Veggie Chili...Full of Healthy Goodness! #HuntsRecipe #spon

Thank you to Hunt’s for sponsoring this post and encouraging my culinary skills!

Visit Hunt’s Signature Recipe Collection to find tons of delicious ideas

for using Hunt’s tomatoes in your meals.

My kiddos LOVE tomatoes - pretty much in any form. I feed tomatoes a lot and am always tyring to get more healthy options into their daily diet. "Heart healthy diced, whole, stewed and crushed canned tomatoes are a perfect addition to many recipes." I agree wholeheartedly...I find myself adding varieties of these tomatoes to many of our meals - chicken, stews, soups...you name it. These tomatoes add flavor and nutritional value and make my kids smile!

One dish we love around here is chili!

We love chili...it is a mealtime staple!

I have a few different versions of chili that I make,

but I wanted to mix things up a bit with a vegetarian dish.

I am loving this Veggie Chili!

And so did everyone else!

Ingredients
This is a mild, chunky chili. Using the delicious Hunt's Diced with Basil, Garlic, and Oregano added some great flavor right in, so I used less seasoning/herbs that in my usual chili. You can adjust some of the spices (cumin, chili powder) to your liking (I added more garlic, because I cannot get enough!). This is what we prefer. 

• 1 Can Hunt's Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 2 Cans Hunt's Diced Tomatoes, Basil, Oregano and Garlic
• 1/2 can Hunt's Tomato Paste (I generally freeze the other half of a can)
• (Optional) 1 Can Hunt's Tomato Sauce (depends on how thick you like your chili)
• 2 cans black beans (store brand)
• 1 can pinto beans (store brand)
• 1 can kidney beans (store brand)
• 1 16 oz can diced green chilies
• 1 can chopped olives (store brand)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 gloves garlic
• 1 Teaspoon cumin
• 1 Teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• (Optional, chili powder, depends on your taste)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Cook It!

• Chop red pepper and red onion

• Chop or mince cloves or garlic
• Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, add garlic.
• Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, add red onion and red pepper.
• Cook until just caramelized, about 15 minutes (just watch it).

• In the meantime, empty the contents of the Hunt's tomatoes in a large stock pot. (I had a helper!)

• Add the chilies and olives.
• Empty the cans of beans into a colander and let juices drain, rinse off and let water drain.
• Add beans to the stock pot.
• Place on stove at a medium/low heat and begin to heat.
• Add the dry mustard, salt, pepper and chili powder (if you wish)
• As the stock pot heats, add the pepper/onion mixture.
• Stir
• Cook for approximately one hour on low, stirring occasionally. You can cook this in a crock pot on low for 4-5 hours.

I am continually working on improving my family's diet

and making my home a healthy place. I want to teach my kids good nutrition and instill it in them early. And what better time to renew these goal than now - the new year!

"New Year’s Resolutions are often tough to stick to, but here’s one easy-to-follow recommendation from USDA’s new MyPlate model – fill at least half of your plate with fruits and vegetables including one or more servings per day of red & orange vegetables. That’s easy to do when tomatoes are America’s favorite non-starchy vegetable!" - Hunts

The exceptional flavor and quality of the Hunt's tomatoes made this chili A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

It was hearty and yummy!

Now, if you prefer a non-veggie chili, I also cooked up some ground beef for the hubby and made a separate pot of chili - no beans (he does not like beans), added the meat - but the tomatoes and spices were the same. Super-simple!

Visit www.Hunts.com for more recipes, and check out

the Hunt’s Recipe Rewards program for some great coupons!

What do you like in your chili?

Thank you again to Hunt’s for sponsoring my post. Find more ideas for cooking with tomatoes at Hunt’sSignatureRecipeCollection. I was selected for this opportunity by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own. #HuntsRecipe #spon

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A Little CA Grown Magic...ROSES!

Thank you to California Grown for encouraging me to connect with California growers and encouraging California consumers to "Choose California Grown" when they can.

I am a born and bred Californian. I have had the pleasure of living in Southern California for most of my life and now currently I live on the Central Coast. When I moved 6 years ago, I drove back and forth between Los Angeles and my new home about 6 times a year. These drives always made me fall back in love with California. The land is rich and fertile and driving Highway 101 shows off a rich farming and agricultural base here in the Golden State. Driving through the hills and fields just before sunset is magical...

everything is golden.

As we drive we try to guess what crops are growing along the highway (If you drive Highway 1, they make it easy with signs!). It is a fun little game and really makes the kiddos understand and hopefully, eventually, they will truly appreciate where their food and other important products are coming from.

I want my children to grow up in this wonderful state and realize the potential California not only has already discovered but still has. This is something that has become more and more important to me. It seems in this modern age, there is a disconnect between how things get from A to B to C. I want to show them how to support our state and our farmers by purchasing locally and CA Grown products, produce, and flowers.

Learning a little more about CA Grown products was a huge plus...
That cute CA license plate logo signifies CA Grown products,
but did you know you can always ask your grocer which products are CA Grown?

For a native, and hopefully lifelong Californian, the mission of the CA Grown campaign is especially near and dear to my heart. 

"California Grown" reminds all of us how important it is to look for and purchase agricultural products grown and produced in the Golden State. The campaign is a true public-private partnership. It is supported by the state and federal governments, as well as by the hundreds of growers who provide Californians with food, clothing, shelter and fiber. The campaign is also working with hundreds of stores throughout the state to promote California products"

--CA Grown Website

I am lucky to live in a region that is abundant with fresh amazing CA Grown products. In fact the area I live very near is referred to as the "Salad Bowl of the World." Have you ever seen how gorgeous the rows and rows of different varieties of lettuce are...it gives you a whole new appreciation of lettuce for sure!

That said, my first true love is flowers. I pretty much never met a flower I did not like. When I was a wedding planner, I was once talking to a very difficult client about flowers...this client ended up saying something to me that I loved. "How can a flower not be pretty?" I celebrate the beauty in every flower...

but I especially love roses...big gorgeous blooming roses!

I recently received a dozen roses from California Cut Flower Farmer Janet Louie- now that is a good way to start the day, right? I was giddy...I opened the box to find a beautiful assortment of pink and blush roses that I fell in love with right away.

Here is a little about Janet talking about the varieties of flowers they grown and the history of the company.



It is also a very good reminder that buying CA Grown flowers supports CA families.

I was excited to use these roses to create an pretty arrangement for our guests that spent the weekend with us. Fresh flowers just light up a house!

I actually like to keep things simple when I buy flowers for the home. Often I accent with greenery, like rosemary, from my own garden, but these roses were just so beautiful I wanted to display them on their own. I used simple thrift store jars and one tall bud vase to show off these beauties! They needed nothing else to make them sparkle...they were just gorgeous!

I clustered them together, with one of the pink roses that were in full, gorgeous bloom - they were begging to be the star of the show.

Of course, the blush and red roses were not content to be left on the sidelines, they are just as beautiful and starting to really open up themselves.

I have been conscious of where my produce and other products come from for awhile, but in recent months have made a conscious effort to really, really know what I am buying and where it is coming from, as it truly does impact our lives.

Thank you again to California Grown for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about all of California Grown growers. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #CleverCAGrown #spon

 

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