Vegetarian Chili
We tried this a few days ago and really enjoyed it. DH and I have been feeling pretty darn good on our fruity-veggie diet (including plenty of cheats) and are continuing it.
I decided to try making chili, leaving out the meat and replacing it with larger and more numerous chunks of vegetables, such as a variety of peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Potatoes would have been good, too. I decided to leave out the spuds this time because we’ve been having quite a lot of them.
We liked this and I don’t feel like I missed out on the meat at all. I DID make cornbread as our traditional side dish to chili, so that was a “cheat” on the diet, but I to be fair, I only had a little bit of it, and I didn’t even butter it, just broke it up into my soup.
Here’s the recipe for the Vegetarian Chili:
1 can tomato paste
1 c. water
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can beef or vegetable broth
1 can kidney beans
1 sweet onion, diced, but not tiny
1/2 green pepper, cut in the same manner as the onion
1/2 poblano pepper, ditto on the cutting
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
5 fresh white mushrooms
1 t. minced garlic
2 T. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Get out your best friend, the crock pot, and start dumping all of the canned items into it. Set it on low.
Chop up the veggies — start by seeding the peppers. If your skin is at all sensitive, use gloves when cutting the jalapeno. Proceed to chop the veggies and toss them into the crock pot. Add the seasonings and let your crock pot do its magic for several hours. If you don’t have that long, saute the vegetables first so they will be done when you are ready to eat.
Use your imagination on this recipe! There are SO many things you could put into Vegetarian Chili — zucchini, corn, hominy, peas, okra, white or black beans, diced potatoes.
Also consider topping it with avocado and maybe a bit of sour cream or shredded cheddar cheese. Serve with cornbread or corn chips. Or, serve the chili OVER a baked potato.
December 17th, 2007