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They’re everything you can imagine about an 80’s or 90’s era block party! Short shorts, hot dogs on the grill, neighbors milling around with wonderful plates of food. I was so delighted, when after about 5-6 years of roaming around after college, we finally settled down in Northampton, and got invited to our first block party within only a few months! It was as good as I remember block parties being – and I was happy this tradition was living on in my adulthood. It has a certain something.
Now that summer is coming, or is even here for many, the block party is BACK! It’s a time of year for summer cookouts and block parties – which are great times to be with friends, family, and neighbors – while sharing incredible meals.
Des and I went before the holiday weekend, to be covered for many parties to come. We picked up Swanson Broth and truRoots Quinoa to make one of my favorite “pasta” salads, that uses quinoa instead of pasta, and your choice of fill-ins.
One fun trick I’ve learned with quinoa is to cook it in chicken broth instead of water. Why? The number one reason is infused and intense FLAVOR. I love the versatility of Swanson Chicken Broth, and how you can buy a six-pack from Sam’s Club.
And then I set to work. In the true spirit of block parties, my neighbor brought me olive oil, which I used to lightly toast the quinoa, before cooking it in the chicken broth. The whole process takes about 20 – 25 minutes. You can fluff it with a fork.
Why do I choose Swanson Broth? I always have. With it’s unique blend of flavors, and being trusted by chefs (and I’m not one but maybe it would be cool to learn to be one), it’s always my first choice for cooking. It smells delicious on the stove.
This is like a perfect summer pasta salad, but it's made with quinoa instead of noodles, and you can play around with the meats, cheeses and vegetables any way you want. The quinoa is cooked in chicken broth instead of water, infusing it with a lot more flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup rinsed truRoots quinoa
- 2 cups Swanson Chicken Broth
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 10 grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Red pepper to taste
- Bacon pieces
- Shredded or cooked carrots
- 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
- Juice of half a lemon
Instructions
- Cook your chicken or buy it, and set it aside.
- Cook bacon using your desired method, chop it into bits, and set it aside.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the truRoots quinoa and stir for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and boil for five minutes.
- Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 15 minutes.
- Let quinoa cool for a bit.
- Then mix in your desired meats, cheeses, vegetables and spices.
- Drizzle with the 1/4 cup of olive oil and stir.
With chicken, bacon, Parmesan cheese, and a nice taste of real garlic and lemon, you might be going for seconds. Feel free to take on your own spin. You can use Feta cheese instead of Parmesan, and maybe add olives, to make it a Greek Quinoa Salad. You can also add Italian dressing and some great meats. You can make it rainbow colored with summer vegetables! Anything goes, but the unique flavors of the Swanson Broth and the truRoots will always be in my recipes. Just LOOK:
Believe it or not, I have never had quinoa and now after seeing your salad recipe, I am dying to try! Seriously looks so yummy and might have to go get some now to make. Thanks for sharing 🙂
My first time having it was in California, of course, and I was like, “What???”
Now I love it. We usually keep some cooked quinoa in the fridge because you never know. Good stuff!
I adore quinoa! It’s a staple in my fridge. And my quinoa cookies are my family’s favorite.
I’ve never tried that! I have taken to keeping cooked quinoa in the fridge because you really do reach for it all week long. Yum.
I use Swanson’s chicken broth in almost all my meals that require it. It does make my food taste so much better. While I have had quinoa, I don’t usually eat it, and have never made anything with it. I’m going to try this, because everything tastes better with bacon. 🙂
Bacon is pretty much a national hero! I got into quinoa when I lived on the west coast and it’s so versatile!
Yep, you are my hero. It’s settled, I am coming over for the next block party. What can I bring?
What a great recipe, yum! I love Quinoa and Swanson’s is the only chicken broth I use 🙂
Bring doughnuts!! Sound good?
I am a huge Swanson broth fan because their product doesn’t contain MSG. That MSG additive gives me terrible headaches, so thank you Swanson and thank you Tamara for sharing this awesome recipe. Feed meeeee!!!
It affects Des too, so I feel ya! Yay for no MSG!!
Oh my goodness – that looks and sounds so delicious!
Thanks! It’s awesome.I served it at a party this weekend, in fact.
We sadly never had block parties growing up. For the longest time I was one of the only kids. We also lived on a somewhat major street that I’m sure they couldn’t block off.
I had the most delicious quinoa salad a few weeks ago! It made me appreciate the grain so much more.
I first had quinoa in SF and I can’t believe it took me that long to find it, and appreciate it!
I always pictured block parties as happening on streets with cul-de-sacs!
Definitely going to try cooking the quinoa in chicken broth now!
I hope you like it! So much flavor.
You know, I’ve never had quinoa before. I have no idea why. This looks delicious!
Wow! Although I never tried it until well in my late 20’s, so maybe it’s just something you have to discover or not.
I love eating quinoa. It’s so easy to infuse the flavors you want with this versatile grain.
Same! And before I discovered this chicken broth method, I was all about the butter.
Quinoa is amazing and I love that you can substitute it for pasta or rice in any dish. #client
Yes! With the leftovers, I may make a breakfast frittata with quinoa. It’s wonderful.
looks delish – I love Quinoa – lots of protein 🙂
This recipe looks delicious! I love Swanson chicken broth and use it very often! I had no idea they came in six packs! I would love to keep a supply of those.
It’s a good supply to have! We use it for so many wonderful things.
Absolutely love quinoa, it’s a salad staple in our house–helps it to bulk up a bit:-)
So true. I love it in a cold dish, maybe even more than I love it warm with chicken broth or warm with lots of butter!
Quinoa is a pretty good grain replacement. We’ve tried it before and even Hun likes it! This bacon chicken quinoa salad recipe looks tasty and maybe we’ll give it a whirl some time this summer! 🙂
I hope you enjoy it! It may need its own spin. Every family is different! I’d probably add asparagus next time to mine.
I miss block parties. I literally can’t even remember the last one I attended! And now that the weather is super nice, I want to do it even more. And I’m glad to see more food photography here, I know you had said in the past that you weren’t really as versed in it. Not that you could tell at all from your photos! 😀
I know.. it’s been about 5-6 years for us! Our new house is in the woods. No neighbors. No block! We could invite the deer and skunk that have been stalking us all week, though.
Thanks about the food photography! Totally not my forte so from you, that means a lot.
I love quinoa. I eat it for breakfast sometimes sweeten with fruit or for lunch or dinner with veggies. It’s very versatile and I love that it cooks quickly.
My Sam’s club no longer carries quinoa 🙁 They phased out a lot of the organic/natural food items recently.
Breakfast! What a good idea. I’ve been thinking it would be good with eggs. Sad about Sam’s Club! And strange. I thought most stores were trending towards more organic food!
I love quinoa! I usually eat mine with kale, olive oil, lemon and a little seasoning- it’s the best!
XOXO
I’m going to try that TODAY! Yay!
I love quinoa and I would certainly give this recipe a try. Seeing the picture of those hot dogs made me think about some vegan hot dogs I recently tried…Worst.Thing.Ever.
I can imagine! I had a vegan friend in high school and I ate vegan for a whole afternoon. An apple, non-dairy ice cream, and a tofu dog. I was starving but in retrospect, I should have just eaten more whole foods like the apple! And not salty, processed tofu dogs!
I’ve always been curious about quinoa. Simply because I don’t think I’ve tried it even when I’ve read so much about it. I’m itching to try! That first photo with the hotdog — so yummmyy too!!!
I didn’t try it until my mid 20’s in California. I’m glad I did!
That first photo makes me very hungry.
This sounds so tasty. I was so apprehensive about trying quinoa, but it’s such a versatile food and works with so many recipes. I love the chicken broth idea!
I hear that. I remember the first time I tried it, I was so confused. I had no idea what it really was. Now I love it.
I love quinoa (and Sam’s)! This is a great recipe. I will have to put it on our menu very soon! Thank you!
Of course! And thank you! I hope you enjoy.
I just recently tried quinoa for the first time in a lettuce salad. so good and really easy to make.
I just had it in a cold salad recently and loved it that way. I usually had had it warm and with butter. Very versatile.
I love my quinoa it is so good and good for you. I am so trying this recipe this weekend.
True. We have it on hand always. I love how a bag of TruRoots will last for awhile.
We are big fans of quinoa here at my house. I love the idea of bringing something new and different to a block party!
What’s funny is that it was a block party in CA where I first had quinoa. I had no idea what it was before that!
We love quinoa as it is a great protein substitute! Our favorite thing to make is a veggie chili using quinoa!
Now that sounds delicious!
Quinoa, rice, and couscous are all better when cooked in broth! This recipe looks a lot like our grain bowls that we make over the summer. It’s the perfect way to use up grilled leftovers!
Looks delicious. I still haven’t tried Quinoa yet, I really need to give it a try. Swanson broth is my go to and I use it in so many dishes.
Oh that looks delicious!!! I normally cook mine in chicken broth too. But recently I tried this new recipe that marinates it in fresh squeezed lime juice, fish sauce, red peppers and a bit of sugar and omg is it tasty!!