It is never “too early” for a delicious bowl of chili! While it may only be the beginning of September and technically fall has not arrived, I am officially in the fall/winter cooking mood. On the cooking agenda for Monday night: a nice warm bowl of vegetarian chili! Yum! I used the same major staples that I normally use when cooking chili, but I also added a new ingredient as inspired by Iowa Girl Eat’s blog: vegetarian baked beans! Not only are baked beans delicious on their own, but they are delicious in chili.
Ingredients:
(this photo does not contain all of the ingredients that I used because I decided to add some extras part way through the cooking process)
1 tablespoon of EVOO
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 yellow onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 15 ounce can of no salt added chili ready beans
1 small can (15 ounce?) Bush’s vegetarian baked beans
1 15 ounce can of no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 ounce can of no salt added diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato juice (I bought a large can because it was more economical, but only used a little less than half of the can)
1 chili seasoning packet
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1. Heat EVOO in large pan over medium heat and cook garlic, onions, and peppers until soft
2. Add tomatoes, beans, chili seasoning packet, seasonings, and tomato juice.
3. Bring to boiling and then cook over low heat for at least 30 minutes.
4. Serve with crackers and shredded cheese, if desired.
I also served this with corn bread for my family, but I was unable to eat it as many corn bread boxed mixes (Hy-Vee and Jiffy) contain animal lard…no thanks!
This is a fast and easy meal that you can cook the night before and reheat the next evening or cook in a Crock Pot. This batch of soup makes approximately 6 servings. This is great for a family, or for 1-2 people who want yummy leftovers! After all, chili is always better the second day!
No matter what ingredients you normally use for your chili, I highly recommend that you try adding some vegetarian baked beans. It is a delicious addition!
