Vegetarian Chili Recipe

What you need to know…

Only add a lot of pepper if you like heat and sweating.

If the chili becomes too peppery, dice a couple of carrots into the pot and it will take away some of the heat. Add the carrots after adding the cans of tomato and tomato sauce.  You can also add a little brown sugar,  say less than a teaspoon, if the chili is overly peppery.  It will make the chili more sweet than peppery.

What you need…

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
2 green bell peppers, chopped
A small piece of scotch bonnet pepper or 1 – 2 jalapeno pepper(s) chopped (or less depending on how much heat you can handle)
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1 (16 ounce) jar of tomato sauce (not Ragu and definitely not Prego)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper (a teaspoon for those of you who cannot stand the heat)
1/2 – 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can medium red beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

What to do…

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, Italian seasoning, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and garlic. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder, cayenne and black pepper. Stir in the red, garbanzo, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with a slice of lime, cube up some advocado and serve it on the side  or sprinkle some cheese of your choice on top. Also remember that chili goes with anything from pasta to rice, to mashed potato. Feliz comiendo!!!